I keep getting told “you’ve been studying for a long time and can’t speak anything”
I think this is something you just have to get comfortable with. I get this a lot too, after studying pretty hard for almost 2 years. But I explain that I’m trying to get good at reading first, then use my reading ability to work on listening, and finally work on speaking after I can understand spoken Japanese fairly well.
It would be a fool’s errand to try to get to speaking before I can understand the Japanese I hear – you need lots of input in order to make good output.
need specifics on which direction // learning site I need next.
Lots of people have mentioned grammar textbook-type resources and that’s important. But also join the absolute beginner book club here and start reading. Reading motivates and reinforces your grammar studies, and it’s fun! I asked a lot of silly questions to the book club while I read my first book, so don’t be afraid to ask for help parsing sentences that you can’t crack – the people here are a great resource. 