Well if you plan to learn how to read and write Japanese, I would recommend that you start off memorizing Hiragana and Katakana for phonetics as a first step. It helps to wean yourself from romaji (English alphabet). You will also be better prepared to memorize Kanji (Chinese Characters). Once you get that out of the way. Find some recources on grammer. You can find this online, bookstore, or local library. It will help you understand understand plain, polite, etc speech. Listen to japanese podcasts, songs, and news videos. It will help you become accustomed to hearing every syllable instead of the illusion of a fast blur of words you hear when not exposed to hearing it from natives. When you understand how grammer works, and know hiragana & Katakana (kanas) try to read some articles and translate word by word. Memorize it. Try to stay away from translating in google or a translator. Most of the time it will translate it litterally or make the sentences look like incomplete sentences. Your goal is to interpret it not find literal meanings. After that you should have enough experience to know what you need to progress on. If you need any help contact me! have a good day! Please contact me! I am looking nfor a study partner and I can help you learn Japanese! -Adrian