In my case, we learnt it in high school. Our teachers insisted on it being very useful to look up the pronunciation of unknown words, and we even had exams wher

In my case, we learnt it in high school. Our teachers insisted on it being very useful to look up the pronunciation of unknown words, and we even had exams where we had to transcribe from IPA to the standard spelling. This was in Spain though, were the national language has a very consistent spelling, and English is taught as a second language. I don't know how it is in other countries.