In general, the gears are laid out like an H, with first in the upper left, second directly below it, third is to the right of first, fourth below it, and if there is a fifth, it is up to the right of third. Practice pressing it to the floor somewhat quickly, then letting it back up slowly. A light clutch is usually what you want, because you're going to be pressing it in and slowly letting it out a lot.
On some cars it is hard to press in, but most modern cars have a "light" clutch. So, with the car still turned off, put your right foot on the brake pedal, and with your left, push the clutch to the floor. This "letting out the clutch" is the key to getting the car moving from a stop. Since the pedal is not an on-off switch, you can control how quickly the two come together, letting one slip against the other for a bit, as you let the clutch pedal up. So when you press in the clutch you separate the engine from the transmission. The clutch pulls them apart when you press it in, and lets them touch each other when the pedal is up. The other plate is connected to the transmission and is made of a material like fine sandpaper. What the clutch pedal (far left) does is control the distance between two discs or "plates." One plate is connected to the engine, and has a big, flat surface. They work the same as they do in an automatic. You already know two of the pedals - the gas and the brake. We'll get to the parking brake later - let's concentrate on the pedals and stick shift.
The drivers seat - Getting a feel for the pedals Trade places and climb into the driver's seat. Let your friend (you don't think they're really going to let you borrow their car to learn without coming along do you?) drive the car to the middle of the parking lot, and have them shut it off in first with the parking brake on. (I wish my grandfather followed those rules when he was trying to teach me to bowl!) In other words, they should keep quiet unless you ask for help. If you are borrowing the car and the owner wants to come along, work out in advance that you might ask them questions, but your intent is to learn, and that you will be learning from a few mistakes along the way. Practice on a a day where neither bad weather nor darkness are going to cause problems. The second should be a long straight section of low traffic roadway. The first should be a large FLAT parking lot, preferably one with few lamp-posts so you don't have to concentrate so much on the "where you're going" while you are getting comfortable with shifting. You'll also want a couple good, safe places to practice. Floor mounted stick shifts are more intuitive and easier to use. Don't try to learn on a car that has the shifter on the steering column. Finally, choose a car with a floor-mount stick shift. They are much easier to get going and to stop.
It's also better to learn in a smaller car, with a smaller engine. Clutches are much "stickier" when new, and this makes learning more difficult. Your best bet is a car that is not new, nor one that has had the clutch recently replaced.
Obviously, you will need a stick-shift car. Some things are hard to explain before others, but you need to see the whole picture before you first turn the key. There are so many things to get used to when learning to drive, that trying to master a clutch and gearshift while trying to remember to stop in front of the stop sign or back into a parallel parking space seems a bit silly.
In today's day and age, with the easy availability of automatic transmission cars, it is much easier to learn on an automatic. This tutorial starts with the assumption that you already have experience driving an automatic transmission car.
How to drive a manual transmission (stick shift) car