Diary can help you improve your Spanish

When you live in an English-speaking environment, getting to the point where you can start thinking in Spanish is a challenge. Here's what works for the writer of a letter I received in email today:

"Incidentally, one of my best self-motivated study methods has been to keep a diary of sorts in Spanish. I write down reflective, thoughtful things but also just funny or aggravating things that happen in the day-to-day dealings of life. It forces me to think in Spanish and makes the usage 'personal' when I don't have the opportunity to express myself with Spanish in conversation. Plus it builds vocabulary when I run across something for which I have yet to learn the words."

Do you have tips for learning Spanish? If so, feel free to share them in our forum.