Japanese is often considered to be one of the hardest languages to learn If you were brought up speaking a Western language, the many nuances and lyrical tone of Japanese may be difficult to learn. As you learn, however, you start to pick up on the subtleties of this beautiful language. Don't let the fear that it's too hard stop you from even trying to learn Japanese. What you have to realize is that everyone has the ability to learn several languages! You do have to devote a certain amount of time and hard work into it, though. There's no reason why you can't become fluent in Japanese if you are willing to give it your best effort. Here are some tricks you can use to make the process just a little bit easier on yourself.
If you are serious about learning Japanese, you should find a way to immerse yourself in it. Travel to Japan if you possibly can; explore the country without anyone's help. Any study you've done will come in handy, and you may get by better than you think. For people wanting to really immerse themselves, this is probably the single best way to learn a new language. It forces them to leave their native language behind and truly open themselves up to new forms of communication. Not everyone can simply go to Japan; if you can't do that right now, look for an area in your city where Japanese is commonly spoken. If you do not have this, try spending a few weeks watching only Japanese television shows and movies (and leave the subtitles off) If you want to learn a lot of vocabulary, this is a good method to use.
Start small. Don't over complicate the process; start off with something simple like learning vocabulary. No matter what language you attempt to learn you will find multiple words that all say the same thing. It would be a better use of your time to learn only one or two says to say something rather than learning them all. Don't focus on the number of words you learn until you are aware of the more subtle meanings of those words in any given situation. Being able to recognize the small differences in the meanings of word is very important to being able to communicate effectively and the difference between being considered a beginner and an actual speaker of the language by native speakers.
Reading out loud helps a lot. To get better at speaking you will have to be able to speak smoothly and pronounce words the way they are meant to be pronounced; the only way to do this is by reading out loud. The language that you are trying to learn has its own unique rhythm; you will have to grasp this rhythm and you do it by hearing your own voice talk speak the language. Read menus at a Japanese or any restaurant who's menu is in your preferred language. Doing the exercises in a textbook and reading the examples out loud is a good way to practice. Get used to reading out loud, make it a habit because it will drastically approve your ability to pronounce words correctly and speak entire sentences without getting tongue-tied. You can learn a language using a variety of systems and tools. Find out what techniques jibe with the way you learn best, and stick with these. The most important thing to remember is that learning Japanese is something you can do. You just need to be patient and eventually you'll be reading, writing and speaking like a native!