Some "interesting" responses there. I bought a scanner when I was learning. It was a cheap Maycom (you can get them on eBay for about £50). I equipped it with a 12" whip antenna from Maplin (£10) and sat it on the window sill in my kitchen.
I live 10 miles from the airport, and definitely not line of sight, yet I can receive Tower/Approach/ATIS and the vast majority of ground comms. I found it easy to use, and just having it sat there burbling away in the background for a couple of months I found quite useful.
I would certainly agree with the RT course however. The 2-day course I went on was probably the best money I spent during the whole PPL learning experience. I finished it with my RT written and practical complete, and my standard of RT 1000% better.