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Hmm, I've been learning for 3 years (but only ~5 semesters of classes, 1 class per since it's not my major and skipped one) and am still terrible at it. My sole accomplishment is I can usually understand what my roommates (who are Japanese) are saying (like "toire kami ga nai no?" and what not, lol) and can understand most anime with a dictionary at hand.
When it comes down to saying something myself (picking a verb/conjugating it and using it in one of the grammar patterns like hazu/tsumori desu or a sentence or whatever) I'm terrible. Actually I have all the conjugations of common verbs pretty much memorized, but if it's something I haven't encountered frequently it takes my mind way too long to figure it out and say it. Anyway I suppose this is why most of the time in class is spent broken up in groups and drilling each other - so you get experience saying things.
Anyway, my advice is that if you go with classes then when such a speaking occasion comes up, you shouldn't say the simplest thing that comes to mind. Try to say something vaguely complex, especially if it's your turn with the professor checking you/providing corrections. It will help a lot down the road to get used to saying weighty things, even if it means making more mistakes in class (where they don't count and are even beneficial when corrected anyway ^^).
Oh and re. kanji, don't even get me started. Start memorizing now because you'll never finish! Flash cards do nothing for me. If you're the same I suggest trying to use them in sentences/context whenever possible and on your own for practice, also you should read a lot. I could look at/drill a kanji on a flash card and say it's readings to myself 100 times and I still won't remember it as well as a kanji that I've used in my homework once or twice and read in context on occasion.
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