For best results create your own learning party and work with friends/fc/ls. Barring that you can go into a duty finder but it's like rolling the dice on whether or not you get a group that will be helpful to a new player or as you get more experience, a group experienced enough that you can continue learning (ie when you are working on phase 3, a group that is still struggling with phase 1).

DF is a no expectations area, consider it like a suggested party. There's not obligation of anyone when you get there and the party may fall apart immediately or remove you. And likewise you can leave if you don't like it.

The social interactions and expectations of the Japanese player base cannot be applied to NA servers. Those come with their own issues and have just switched the PF and DF around as many have stated. It would be great to see more learning pts in PF so I'd suggest making them. They tend to fill up pretty fast in my experience.