Hi~ I think this is my first post here, I'm really shy and have trouble gathering the courage to post on forums. I want to learn Japanese, but I grew up never really hearing any languages other than English, not counting some mandatory French lessons in school that I have completely forgotten. :P

But, that isn't really the point. I tried a lesson here, but seeing all the hiragana and kanji... I got very confused. I don't know where to start.

Take a look at

http://www.alljapaneseallthetime.com/blog/all-j...

You should find some useful advice there. Also, Steve's advice on language learning is applicable to any language. Have a read of his online book for some inspiration.

A good place to start is by cultivating the attitude that it is OK for you to not understand. You will spending many, many hours (hundreds and thousands) not understanding all kinds of things. This is perfectly normal and just fine. Allow yourself to develop a relationship with the language on a day to day basis where you are hearing and seeing it (not necessarily 'listening' or 'understanding' to begin with!) Eventually you will start to become used to hearing and seeing it, and will feel less stress and tension when you start to figure out meaning of different bits and pieces.

You might also enjoy...

http://thelinguist.blogs.com/how_to_learn_engli...

Hi,
Its really suggested to start with Hiragana. You must memorize all them.
I'm a japanese learner to and I can imagine your difficulties.

If you need some help, feel free.

さようなら
がんばってね。

If you want to learn Japanese, I would suggest you learn the kana and eventually the kanji.

Olá Steve, tudo bem?
Sou estudante de japonês e gostaria muito de uma sugestão de estudo sua pelo Lingq, objetivando o NihongoNouryoku Shiken nível 2, com um tempo de estudo de 1 ano.
Gostaria de saber quantas horas por dia sugere que eu fique utilizando o Lingq? Tem algum material específico para isto no lingq? Hoje, eu nível de conhecimento é equivalente ao Nível 4(novo) do Nouryoku shiken.
Você acha que 4 horas de dedicação diária só no lingq já dá pra melhorar? (eu faço toda a metodologia, com escuta de MP3 também.
Muito obrigado e sucesso! Parabéns por este site, ele é revoucionário.
Abraço,
JP

Como eu disse em a sua parede, eu realmente não sei. Minha abordagem para a aprendizagem de línguas é sempre focada em ler e ouvir e falar quando tenho a posibilidade.

Thank you everyone! :) I have some home-made hiragana flashcards, so I'll start with them. The community is so nice here, I look forward to learning here. :D

*

Thank you very much, Hollyfire!!
I'll take a look there!
See you.