Macmillan is the first dictionary publisher to recognise students’ different competence levels in receptive and productive English, and so highlight in red the 3,500 words essential for intermediate students to speak and write confidently.

The MACMILLAN ESSENTIAL DICTIONARY clearly identifies productive and receptive vocabulary, recognising that there is a distinction between words students need to learn and use, and those that they will come across but not use frequently. The active vocabulary, printed in red, is defined in detail with usage information, collocations and grammatical patterns as well as more examples of the word in use. The passive vocabulary is printed in black and dealt with more succinctly, allowing learners to recognise and understand it quickly. This distinction between productive and receptive words has allowed Macmillan to include more words, while encouraging learners to grasp the core words necessary to speak and write fluently.

The accompanying CD-ROM contains not only the full text of the dictionary in a multi-searchable format, but also interactive illustrations, animations, photographs, student-centred activities, and sound effects to aid understanding. Students can hear the correct pronunciation of words in both British and American English, record their own pronunciation as a comparison, and practise difficult words with the unique Sound Search function. While writing documents and e-mails or while surfing the Internet, students can point to any word they see and bring up an instant definition or check their spelling.

The MACMILLAN ESSENTIAL DICTIONARY, the portable companion to the MACMILLAN ENGLISH DICTIONARY, winner of the Duke of Edinburgh ESU English Language Book Award 2002, is an essential reference for the classroom and home, offering invaluable support for those wishing to write and speak English accurately.