Just try the demo account so that you would know what are the things you would need to learn and also so you would be able to understand very well what you are reading about the basics in forex. So for me i would try to learn forex by practicing more on the demo account.
I agree with you on the fact that working in the demo account will also help with your learning experience because you will have a better understanding of what you are learning when you see it happening and doing it practically. You will better understand the concepts and know how to apply them on the trading platform.