Learn a New Language

Why you need a dictionary 

It should be obvious why you would need a dictionary when learning a language.  If you come across a word and you don’t know what it means or if you need to use a word and you don’t know how to say it in your target language, you need a dictionary. 

There are tools online to look up words, but having a book in your hand will be the most beneficial.  You might not always be near a computer to look something up and sometimes and dictionary can do a better job of giving you what you are looking for. 

Types of dictionaries 

When you go to get a dictionary in your target language, you will notice the wide array of dictionaries available.   

There are one way dictionaries.  These only give you a translation one way, for example, a dictionary that only translates Spanish into English, but not vice versa.  These aren’t very useful to someone learning a new language, so you should get a two way dictionary. 
 

There are pocket dictionaries such as the Oxford French Minidictionary, the Larousse Pocket Spanish Dictionary, or the Langenscheidt Pocket German dictionary.They are small, but don’t usually fit in your pocket.  These are good to take around with you when you are on the go.   

If you are more serious about learning a language, you will want to get one of the big top quality dictionaries such as the larousse dictionaries that come in Spanish and French.  The oxford dictionaries come in very many languages that you can search through on the left side of the page here.  Also, you can find a wide variety of languages in the Webster dictionaries here. 

There are other brands of dictionaries, too, but I would recommend sticking with the quality brands.  Even the smallest pocket dictionary in a name brand is very cheap, so there is no reason why you should have to pass up quality. 

Don’t start learning a language without a dictionary because it is a crucial part of the learning process.  You will use it constantly, especially when translating text.  Don’t rely on the glossary of a textbook because it will not give you what you need.  Get one now so you don’t hold yourself up in the future. 

 Back to Product Reviews Homepage