Hi Rob, thanks for sharing your goals. You have motivated me to be more specific in my learning process. Right now the thing I want to improve most is my speaking. I meet with my teacher once a week (via Skype) and sometimes my speaking flows rather easily but other times I get stuck and frustrated. I am trying to think of a way that she can help me. (Sometimes I wonder if she is excepting my mistakes instead of correcting them). As much as I do not enjoy writing, I like your idea of translating to English and then back to Spanish. Also I think I will begin to read out loud. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.