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Dictionaries are very useful if you want to find a particular word and learn how to use it. However, to learn vocabulary effectively it is often better to have material collected together by subject (food, at the airport etc.). Many people find it helps to have some pretty pictures to help identify and remember the words. A few people on the course have got, or have seen,

Heather Amery’s First thousand words in Chinese-published by Usborne. This has pretty coloured pictures. It is aimed towards children, which means it is not bad for us! Cover price £7.26 (or £6.49 from Amazon.co.uk). You can listen to the words in the book by going to the website www.usborne-quicklinks.com/ and entering the keywords 1000. You don’t have to buy the book to do that.

However, I prefer
Chinese English bilingual visual dictionary - published by Dorling Kindersley. This also has lots of pretty pictures. It is much more comprehensive, with over 5,000 words, and has amazing detail in some areas: for example you can learn to discuss rugby or cricket with your Chinese friends (assuming they know what on earth those are) with Chinese expressions for “dead-ball line” , “in-goal area” or “wicket-keeper” (but not “silly mid on”!), all for only £7.99 (or £5.99 from Amazon.co.uk). Also, unlike the previous book, the English is printed alongside the Chinese characters and the pinyin. One slight drawback is that the printing is a little small, so oldies like me might have to use a magnifier to identify reliably the tone marks on the pinyin or the more complicated characters. Otherwise, it is really good.

Finally
Chinese vocabulary: Schaum’s outline series - published by McGraw-Hill. This has no pretty pictures but lots of useful things here, including example sentences and exercises. Makes you work systematically. The new vocabulary is used within sentences, so you need a reasonable basic grasp of Chinese in order to use it effectively. I don’t recommend it for beginners but, if you are keen, you should be able to cope with it by the end of the course. £9.99 or £5.99 from Amazon.