There\'s more ways to learn things in a realistic way.
The best way to learn the basics is to read a book written for Newbies. (I don\'t like the word n00b) If the game includes a writing-system you could write books with facts about the surroundings, and even \"how to\" books.
\"How to make your first meal\", \"how to build a house\", \"how to mine and smelt metals\", \"how to get a life\" and so on...
The beginner-books should contain pictures and \"easy reading\" (for non-english speaking people) to make things become a little easier for us newbies.
You should have a book containing the basics in your inventory from the beginning.
There should also be a pop-up system containing info about the game (and a cute animal explaining everything to you

) which you could turn on and off.
Not everybody is hard-core RPG-gamers you know