Spanish Dictionary
A Spanish dictionary is obviously very important when learning the language. When reading you can refer to it for common words you see again and again, words you can see are in obvious common useage.
Try to avoid looking up every single word you don't understand. On the street or in newspapers what we
aim for is to get the general idea of what is being said, not to understand every single word. It's just not realistic to expect that.
For this reason use your dictionary only for words which seem crucial to the understanding of the text or conversation.
As you progress you'll find that you're using your Spanish dictionary less and less. That will be a proof positive sign that things are progressing and moving forward in your comprehension of the
language.
I think it is a good idea to have a 'real' hard back dictionary however there are also many fine ones available online. One thing to not overlook is one of those tiny pocket size spanish dictionaries too. It's needs to be the smallest size so that you can carry it around with you in whichever Spanish speaking country you're visiting.
While there, a great exercise is to deicide to only speak Spanish for say half the day. Carry around your pocket Spanish dictionary and whenever you need a verb or other word, consult your dictionary and
work out how to say the sentance. No matter how long it takes you, find a way to say it.
It's tedious I know but believe me, it really works miracles especially if you can do it daily over the course of a holiday. You won't believe the improvement.
Here's a selection of the online Spanish dictionaries I found the best in my studies...
Online Spanish Dictionaries
Here's a great page for finding verb conjugations too, it's a really powerful tool and very professional
http://conjugator.reverso.net/conjugation-spanish.html
I Love Collins Intense Language Office 'Talking Dictionary'
Nothing can beat actually hearing the words in your Spanish Dictionary and from Amazon you can get this Collin Talking Spanish CD ROM which will not only provide you with a great dictionary but also speak every word so you can be sure you have the correct pronunciation.
It also has various word games to play but most importantly it allows you to build and create your own word lists and will then test you on them.