JapanForum.com - To everyone who wants to learn Japanese...

In lieu of the countless 'teach me Japanese' threads, I've decided to make a few points clear...

If your ultimate goal is to learn how to speak, read, and write Japanese fluently and be able to communicate with Japanese people, you should find a class at a local university, or find a tutor. Self-studying will get you off to a head start, but it's difficult to learn up to a fluent level on your own.

If you have a specific question to ask about Japanese, go right ahead and ask away. There's lots of people here that can help answer questions regarding specific topics about Japanese. However, it is is difficult (read: impossible) to teach someone the Japanese language over the internet - at least to a level where you can communicate easily in the language. People online can teach you the basics of the Japanese language, such as simple vocabulary (nouns and verbs), phrases, and other beginner stuff - but not enough to truly learn the Japanese language in the same way you would in a proper class.

If you want to start learning Japanese and there's nowhere in your area that offers classes or tutoring, you can purchase a textbook. I personally like the Genki textbooks, and they aren't terribly expensive as far as textbooks go. You can learn a lot more from a few good books than you can on the internet.

Remember, Japanese is a complex language with three different alphabets, one of which contains thousands of different Kanji characters. To be able to learn these, along with all the grammar rules and vocabulary, over the internet, is not very feasible. There are decent Japanese podcasts on the internet, though, such as japanesepod101.com. The free lessons there will get you off to a good start in learning spoken Japanese.