The best way to learn is by practicing, therefore, for anyone who wants to try BTC, it is a good idea to practice & understand through the testnet first.
No, it is not the recommended way don't make shit up. Bitcoin is hard to use already and learning about testnets, switching wallet configuration and whatnot will definitely lead to funds loss. All it takes is for the user to make a mistake once, confuse the testnet with the mainnet coins and send his real coins to somewhere where he can't recover it. Terrible advice.