I realize my short and trite answer might, at first sight, seem like I'm just being an ass, but seriously, the very first thing one should do with a new language is read the documentation. If the documentation is poorly written, you can expect the same of the language it describes, and you are most likely wasting your time.

If the documentation passes the initial sniff-test, then start reading some code. Since you've just learned the basics of the language from reading the docs, code should make sense when you read it. If small programs and algorithms don't make sense, something is wrong, and your second sniff-test has failed. Of course, this might be your own fault if you didn't study the docs well enough, but that's another type of problem.

The third sniff-test is reading the language implementation code itself. Pay special attention to the bootstrap code.

Before you start writing code, you should know how the language is put together and how to use it, or else you'll waste eons digging for your bugs and trying to find the docs to explain what you did wrong.

Most people wouldn't eat sausage if they knew how it was made.

Write the fucking manual.