When you first realised you know English

[GennevierAnderson]

I remember how back when I was in the 5th, I would have got a 3/10 as a grade at English, because I was terrible at it, I couldn't even tell my teacher the verb "to be" at all persons. However, I can't remember exactly when or how, somewhere along the way, my knowledge in English got pretty advanced without doing any intensive effort, I guess that this was simply because of the internet and because of all of the games I've played online back then. In the 7th grade, my English teacher (it was another one), sent me to the school phase of English Olympics, from where I even qualified for the next phase, and even at that phase I was just 8 points below the next round, which was the city round. Then I realized, that somehow, I got pretty good at English in only 2 years without ever realizing how I managed to do that. Did something similar to that happened to you too?

[takibari]

Hmm, I have never thought about my English learning journey. While I can say that I am above average in my English writing skill, I can't say the same with my speaking skill. In school, English wasn't my strongest suit. In my school years, I had difficulty explaining why things are wrong. I know if a sentence is off grammatically, but if you ask me to explain why it is erroneous, I don't have the ability to fully explain the errors. Because of this, I've always thought of myself not being good at English. It didn't help when I failed my Comm I class on my first year of college. Haha, I got a 5. It's like I was never in class. I had to retake the class the following year. I guess I got intimidated then because all of my classmates came from private schools where English is a must. That is, most of my classmates were truly fluent in the language. Thus, I rarely ever participated in class because I was conscious of my speaking skill. I relied too much on my writing skill, and the teacher didn't like it and flunked me, haha.

[宇崎ちゃん]

I learnt English at school at first, but I never felt like I knew the language based on just school materials.
Later on I have applied what I knew on public forums (in English), that's the moment I actually started to learn (and it was the first time I realised I knew English).
My grammar was terrible at that time and my vocabulary was limited, but people still managed to understand me if they put effort into it (and if not, they just acted like dickheads).

[lingvo]

I realised I know english when I finally get in contact with a native english speaker for the first time. It was awkward at first, I had the vocabulary but not the fluent speaking. I struggled to put together sentences and proper pronountiation. It didn't take me too long to improve significantly, I speak more naturally and without thinking much.

[reverserewind]

It's very hard thing to estimate. I'd say I realized it when I felt like I was able to get the foreign speech on TV effortlessly. As If I was watching the programs in my native language. What an incredible feeling it was. I hope you've had this, too. Or will get there, eventually. Just don't give up on learning the language you like in the face of difficulties. 

[sidney]

Living in the Philippines where English is considered as a 2nd major language, I have always known English and was always fluent in it. It was never hard for me to construct English sentences and I even always have high marks in that subject in school.

[AExAVF]

I was in my kindergarten years when I realized that I had started to read highly advanced materials at that time.  In fact, I was reading Grade 4 materials.  In addition, my mother bought me pictured story books which she would read to me every evening.  I may not have known it consciously, but my English reading skills have gradually improved.  In fact, I have very high marks in English from elementary to high school, but I still have some problems in understanding English literature when I was in college.  Today, I feel as though I can read anything, but even I must admit that my proficiency is still far from okay.

[LeesaJohnson]

Never realized when I started my English learning journey but I liked your journey of learning while playing games you started learning. Keep it up.

[Ailcua]

I really can't remember when. I am a Filipino and English was a part of our curriculum. English is used here even at day care. It has become our second language.