It is of great significance to push for innovative development of learning by extension in the new era in order to further contribute to local theory of foreign language education in China. This paper first briefly reviews the main fruits in the research of learning by extension, and then analyses and explores how to realize innovative development of learning by extension. Suggestions are provided as follows:1)Learning by extension should be extended from Chinese context to international context for enhancing its international influence;2)The goal of extension should transfer from language proficiency to core competencies by providing new explanations for learning;3)The research can be oriented towards basic education (in addition to higher education)in order to expand the application scope of continuous learning;4)Studies should pay attention to the role of teachers;5)The number of qualitative studies should be increased to explore the specific process of continuous learning;6)The systematic nature of teaching practice should be enhanced for the further improvement of the theoretical system of learning by extension.