japanese question

I've been learning Japanese for a short while, and I feel like I've been going about it the wrong way.

The shit I've been using is teaching me how to say shit, but I feel like it's building it on... zero foundation.

I mean, there's nothing wrong with knowing how to say KANKOO DESU KA or anything, but it's not teaching me grammar, what I'm actually saying (it just gives me a general English translation like "are you sightseeing?") or how to read or anything, and I feel like it's more of a gimmicky tourist version of Japanese. It's kind of like Rosetta Stone, I guess.

So, I've decided to ask you fellow basement dwellers. I found this particular blog

http://learningjapanesewithanonymous.blogspot.com/2011/07/introduction.html

Should I follow this guy's lead? I've heard mixed things about Namasensei, I've heard about the Genki books but I don't really know shit about them, Rikaichan is a godsend from what I hear, and all that shit.

All his advice seems to be really good to me, so I figured I'd ask someone who actually knows how to speak it what your basic assessment is.

TL;DR should I follow this guys advice to into nihongo?

>>11

>Those same weeaboos you speak of are also always in the formal classes.

aww yeah brother don't i know it. They're the ones that study 3+ years and can't create a decent sentence. They're also they ones who learn 5000 pretty kanji to post of facebook and draw all over their notepads. Also learning a language takes more than 3 years. 3 years should give you a grounding for self study, which is another reason to attend classes.

but you really can tell the difference between people who are self taught and those who have been schooled. One example is when you take self taught people out of say, a casual situation, and place them in a business or political setting.

anyway, the fact remains that classes, where you are graded and assessed, will highlight your weaknesses and bad habits. You're deluded and full of yourself if you don't think SOME sort of academic assistance. Japanese friends are good, but does the average native speaker know why or how their grammar works the way it does? Even in english people i notice forget the an/a rule. Simple things go a long way to show if a person is (not sure of the word right here in context) talented at the language.