Hello all. I am currently in the process of teaching myself Japanese. This will be my first time actually trying to learn a language other than the 2 years I wasted in high school learning french. So I wanted everyones thoughts on my current plan. Looking for tips on learning language in general and also specifically on Japanese.

Currently I am going through a video lesson series on Japanese Pod 101. They have two people teaching via a recording. At the start of every lesson they have a small conversation. They then break down that conversation and explain what the words mean and the grammatical structure. I am about 15 lessons in and I feel I am picking things up at a decent pace. They also have flashcards and a pdf explanation of key information from that lesson. 

I have my first lesson planned with a Japanese tutor on iTalki this weekend and I think I will probably continue on Japanese Pod 101 and also do a lesson with the tutor once a week or maybe once every two weeks.

For now I have decided to ignore learning how to read. Obviously at some point i will begin to read, but for now i feel it is more important to learn speaking and hearing before I get on the struggle bus learning a whole new alphabet.

What do you think? Any suggestions? Thanks!