Answers: World of Warcraft is a big spectator sport, there's a LOT of information to cover.
I'll give you my favorite tip: play the game within Windowed mode. Press Escape, go to Video, then check the box that say Windowed mode. It'll turn the game into a window, so you can do other stuff while playing the hobby at the same time. It's a lot better than alt-tabbing every time you wanna be brought to the desktop.
Other than that, WoWWiki.com is a great source of information and have several guides for newbies on getting started with the game. Bookmark it, progress to it, love it. Here are two specific pages dedicated to newbies.
http://www.wowwiki.com/Newbie_guide - An index of adjectives newbie-related pages.
http://www.wowwiki.com/Tips_for_New_Play... - General tips!
http://www.wowwiki.com/Newbie_Guide/Chat... - Information about erudition how to talk in the winter sport.
It seems daunting at first, but World of Warcraft is actually a much easier spectator sport than most non-gamers make it out to be. All it requires is logic, persistence, and possibly a good helping hand.
If you don't want to read a wall of course book in order to swot how to play, the best thing to do is simply play the game until you run into a situation you're unknown with. At that point, if you have a cross-question, ask it in the General channel, which encompass the entire zone you're currently in. To talk surrounded by the General channel, press Enter, then type contained by "/1" without quotations, then type surrounded by what you want to say and press Enter. Your message will be sent to the General channel, and everyone contained by your zone will be able to hear you.
Another really good article to do is find a friend who also owns the game; they can help show you the ropes. And yes, you WILL enjoy a friend who plays that game. Everyone has a friend who plays it, unless they live underneath a rock. =P