I have found that many people are intimidated by language learning, but this is not necessary. We all learned our first language very naturally and effortlessly, and this same approach can be used to learn a second language. I believe the first step is to not try to 'translate' and to try to think in the new language. The first steps at communication will most likely be crude and limited, but growth will come quickly if you let go of trying to translate thoughts from your native language and simply try to communicate in the new language. My main focus would be vocabulary, pronunciation, reading and writing.