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I have been learning Spanish as a third language since I was planning to move to Spanish speaking country. I found that reading was a huge help in acquiring vocabulary, internalizing gramatical constructions, and writing. I found novels to be the best for learning vocabulary, the best usage of the various past tenses, proper use of the subjunctive, and more subtle grammar. Newspapers are great for current usage, and, of course, many of the 'nuts and bolts' words you use day to day. I also think it is ideal to use a proper dictionary when possible, and not a translating dictionary, while reading. It also helps a lot to read good quality prose.
As far as writing goes, I found that when I had to use email quite a bit after I first moved down here, that the reading I had done helped tremendously. It wasn't very difficult at all to construct decent sentences and be understood without sounding totally foreign.
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