Conversation skill does need work, and the only way to gain it is, well, to enter into conversations. When I first arrived here 20 years ago I had almost no German whatsoever. Take a course, find people who will speak German with you (surprisingly difficult actually - they usually prefer to practice their English!)

When I first arrived I took a 3Month half day course in High, or as the Swiss prefer "Written" German. One of my early experiences was going into a UBS and saying "Ich möchte 200 Franken von mein Konto, Bitte" and the teller replied "Would you like that in Fifties or in Hundreds, Sir?".

You may find it a bit drakonian, but I deliberately stopped speaking English when in public after I had just enough vocabulary to start to get around on my own. I also stopped reading English magazines and Newspapers. The problem at least in Zürich is you can actually get on very well without German - but if you want to feel at home here you will want to communicate in German.

And another hint. Once you start to read at a half decent level, read books you already know. If you've read John Grisham in English, get it in German. (My Degree in Canada was in Philosophy, so I reread Kant, Nietschze, and Schopenhauer - but that was a little bit over the top). Rereading stuff you already know means you don't have to keep grabbing a dictionary, as you can usually guess what a phrase, or a word means. (Children don't learn with a dictionary, do they?)

Andrew