This paper explores learners’ perceptions and reflections about their own early English language learning experiences (ELLEs) reported in a research study conducted via an online questionnaire on a sample of 197 Croatian secondary school students of three different grammar schools. English as a foreign language (EFL) teaching and learning has a long tradition in Croatia. Children are exposed to English in the English classroom from the first or fourth grade of primary school, and outside of the classroom through a variety of affordances, such as digital and printed media. The findings indicate that the participants overall associated numerous sources of input of the English language with their early formal and informal learning, with the highest number of responses related to TV shows, songs and Internet videos in English. The majority of the students expressed very positive attitudes towards their earliest ELLEs and considered them important for their education and/or for personal reasons. The participants were also asked to share accounts of their particularly memorable early ELLEs. These salient experiences provided valuable data about learners’ motivation, emotions and self-esteem on an individual level. The rich diversity of the participants’ experiences serves as a reminder that every language learner has their own complex language learning past. Data gathered in this study about the current generations’ early ELLEs is hoped to be both interesting and useful to EFL teachers and learners of upcoming generations, as well as to encourage them to reflect upon and find inspiration and comfort in their own past experiences.