When you are learning a new language, one of the best ways to get some effective listening practice in is to use your eyes. Yes, it sounds a bit stupid the way I just said it, but allow me to explain; if you're only listening to audio, it will be nearly impossible to understand and pick out words unless you already know a good majority of the words being spoken. However, if there were pictures or animation to go with the audio, you could figure out the meaning of words since they are being used in context. The definitions of these words are actually being shown to you. The more senses you are using at the same time, the more effective your studying will be. Always keep this in mind.
Now, to follow what I just said, I have two great sites in mind that you should bookmark and use at least a few times a week. The first site I recommend is hellonavi.com. (my link will direct you to the page you need so you don't have to stumble around the Japanese) Hellonavi has various interactive animated lessons that cover everyday situations, so this site is very useful if you're taking a trip to Japan soon and need to know some survival phrases. Another great thing about Hellonavi's lessons is that any text you need to read on this part of Hellonavi will only be in hiragana and katakana, so it's very easy to use. Highly recommended for beginners!
The second site I recommend is kankomie.or.jp. Unlinke Hellonavi's lessons, Kankomie provides animated storybooks complete with a native Japanese speaker reading the story to you. In contrast to Hellonavi, Kankomie is harder to use since the text will include kanji and the speed at which the text is read to you might leave you in the dust if you're a beginner. People who are more advanced in their studies will get the most use out of this site.
* exact URL of Hellonavi's lessons: http://www.hellonavi.com/foldera/index.html *
* exact URL of Kankomie's storybooks: http://www.kankomie.or.jp/mukashi/# *
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