What should I do first? Write? Read? Speak?
 

I'm starting from zero guys. So I need your advice.
What should I do first?...

Learn to :

1. Speak the language?
2. Write the language?
3. Read the language?

And in what order do you suggest I proceed from first to last? Not that the journey really has a defined end.

If you're serious, AJATT is all you need ;)

If you're not as serious, try picking up a beginner's textbook at your local bookstore and reading through it to get a feel for some grammar. If you want to develop reading and listening skills, the best way to do it is through exposure to native material; real Japanese books/TV shows/whatever, as much as you need to get to a comfortable skill level.

So, as for order, start by getting a general overview of things, and only move on to listening and reading if you're dedicated.

I wouldn't worry about writing at all, unless you're planning on moving to Japan soon.

You should be learning all three at the same time, that's the best way to go. It's hard to work with one if you don't know the other, really.

I agree - all three, all together.

Learn a word/sentence, read it (in romaji, kana, then kanji if possible), say it, then write it
(not in that order, but I think that order makes the most sense).

I disagree completely.

If you start practicing speaking right away, you will have no choice but to rely on romaji, on which you will get easily hooked because you're already familiar with he Alphabet. "Getting yourself hooked on romaji" will seriously slow down your Japanese learning process in the long run.

Besides that, where will you use your speaking skills if you live so far from Japan? Speaking is important but it can wait until you have mastered the basic grammar and vocabulary.

Learn how to read and write Hiragana first. Only when you are 100% comfortable with Hiragana, move on to Katakana. It won't take more than a few weeks to get these two systems down.

Then move onto grammar and vocab using short sentences, starting with basic greetings. Start learning kanji, but never learn them in a random order. Always learn them in context. I see some people here on JF wanting to learn kanji before they can use the two kana systems freely, but that is just non-sense. Learn to write sentences using the two kana systems first and then start replacing easier words with kanji. That is exactly how Japanese kids learn to write.

Never let romaji users advise you on how to study Japanese, period. In the eyes of us Japanese, they haven't even started studying our language.

Read/Write -> Speak. As you're learning to speak, practice Kanji.

I have to disagree with AJATT - he extols the virtues of studying ten thousand sentences, but he never explains well how a beginner at Japanese is going to get ten thousand Japanese sentences. It's a complete farce. Besides, he didn't learn by making sentences - he collected sentences as a biproduct of learning.

I would agree with AJATT guy personally, so i would recommend taking a quick look at his site, read/write/listen then speak, like Nagoyankee said if you try to speak first you'll end up relying on Romaji which is what happened to me the first couple of days.

As for what to read, and where to get sentences it's just common sense really, i would suggest googling things your interested in on Japanese Google thats what i do atleast.
I can't understand it all but even if it just gets me trying to read kana and kanji, and even if i can understand a sentence here and there then it's a good thing.

Seconded. On the same note, Heisig's Remembering the Kanji is an excellent method for kanji learning. It won't teach you the readings, but it will give you a keyword for each kanji that reflects its meaning, and makes it much easier to look up.

1.) He has good reason to praise the sentence method, I've unintentionally learned a lot of grammar and vocab by memorizing song lyrics.

2.) There's plenty of native Japanese material available to mine sentences from, no matter what your location; anime, books, websites, etc.

3.) You may be right that the sentences were merely a bi product. The point of AJATT isn't memorizing sentences, it's immersing yourself in your chosen language, regardless of physical location; the sentences simply help speed the process up.

Well I have to say that I have been following the advice from AJATT. I have ordered all almost all the books the he recommended on his site, and the Kanji poster. However I am still confused by a few things (Which I'm sure if I just wait would become clearer, but hey, why not ask?).
I'm tryting to understand the difference between Hirigana and Katagana. From what I've read, Hirigana is more formal or traditional than Katagana. But what I think I'm also seeing is that they basically have the same objective: Spelling out words as apposed to symbolizing them (i.e. kanji) My big confusion though is what the difference is between katakana and hirigana. The only conclusion I can come to is that using Hirigana would be the equivalent of using a professional font for typing up a report, for example. Where as katagana would be the equivalent of using an informal font. Am I even "in the ball park" on this one or am I totally off base? If I am atleat some what close then what do most Japanese people write in? Kata or Hiri [then supplemented with kanji]?

Secondly, and this it what's killing me and keeping from progessing, I have to say that there has been some very good info given thus far, but... I was wondering about something else.

I know this goes against the most experienced peoples advice given here, but wouldn't it be easier for a westerner to learn romanji first [or atleast along side the kana]? The reason I ask is that if you were to use katagana and hirigana, and not know what the romanji was (as a westerner) then how could you piece the Katagana and Hirigana together?

Oh yeah, two thing. Why does AJATT recommend learning kanji first as apposed to the kana? And if I'm correct in what have stated above about the importance of romanji for the western learner, than what is the best romaji system? Hepburn? JSL? Nihon/Kunrei shiki? Some other system?

Hiragana and Katakana have no difference in levels of formality. Hiragana is more like the "default", while katakana is used for special cases like creating italics or emphasis, spelling out foreign words, etc. You'll see both of them quite often.

You do not need to "learn" romaji; obviously you are quite competent with the roman alphabet. Perhaps learning a bit more about what hiragana and katakana actually are would help clear up your confusion, but really, all you have to do is start memorizing which kana corresponds to which syllable.

For no good reason :)

Go ahead and learn kana first, then start working through RtK for the kanji.

I learned Hiragana first.
Because the system I was using sometime wrote using it,
so I had to know the hiragana to know what the word was.

Learning together is the best way.

It depends on what is going to me most useful to you. I'm mostly interested in communicating through the internet, and don't plan on going to Japan for quite a few years. So reading and writing matters most to me. I am working on my listening and speaking because I don't want to get hit with it all at once, but most of my dedicated study time is reading and writing.

Hiragana is the basic kana, what you'll see most often. Katakana is used for foreign-based words and sound words. As for kanji, they're used whenever they work, if that makes sense. Or rather, the kana are used when there's not a kanji that works.

It sounds like you've poured a good bit of money into materials already. You may regret that. It's really better to start with a minimum, and then buy more as you need it. Not only will you waste less money, but you're more likely to use your materials if you attain them out of need, rather than, "Oh, this looks good."

First speak because writing and reading go hand in hand. SO you learn one and you learn the other.

Write. If you study writing first, then you'll know how to read it, when you learn hw to read it, you'll know how to say it.

Could you please explain a little more about what you mean by "sound" words... or better yet go a little more in detail about the differences between the two (Hirigana and Katakana). Metaphors are the greatest!:D

Also, what is the the best all around book any of you can recommend on writing kana and kanji?

My problem with AJATT is that his main point now is the sentences - and unless he writes down his sentences, no beginner can really use that method.

He does have a couple of good points - use a SRT, study often, and have fun - but everyone knows that already.

yeah, i COMPLETELY agree with writing/reading first. i tried speaking first, i'm completely FAILING D:

maybe take a class instead? there's a class that's 2 weeks long in the nearby community college where i live, but my friend says there r tests everyday .3. gonna try it this summer.
u could try something like that. my friend took the class and now she can write/speak/listen to everything. the only thing missing is Kanji, which u can learn online if u want -shrug-

Onomatopoeias. Woof, chirp, ding, etc. There's really not much more difference. You'll be safe using hirigana when you aren't sure, but keep in mind that if it's a loan-word (naifu for knife, Amerika for America, etc.), it'll almost always be in katakana.

I bought two books on kanji. One was for the first hundred, and the other is a dictionary. I only use the dictionary. For kanji, I just use various online sources and flashcards that I made for myself. For kana, I pretty much did the same thing. Look up the charts on Wikipedia or something, and study about five at a time. You may learn differently, but for me, it's all about constant repetition for all the characters. I only use books for grammar.