I learned in my parents' back yard (we lived on the outer corner of a street, so our backyard was larger due to that). It was in a 1980 Chevette, manual, ripped seats, rust everywhere. I had my subwoofer box in the back before I even had my license. I would sometimes just sit in her waiting for my time to come. I loved her, but she was such a piece of crap. There was rust in the fuel tank, so every couple of days the fuel filter would get clogged with rust, I'd stall out and have to pull over to bang the filter with a wrench to jar the rust loose in order to crank the car again. I feared bridges and giving girls I liked rides for this reason. I clearly remember being in front of a couple of cute girls in a VW Cabriolet, stopped at a light. Sure enough, she sensed my lust and stalled on me. I got out, embarrassed, apologized and pushed her out of the road in order to make amends. The clutch was bad so it would slip constantly. Eventually, I cracked the block somehow (probably cause I drove her over 65 mph too many times) and her life blood poured forth in a pool. "I'm done", she said, "I've given you all I can". And with that, she left my side..
And then I got an '86 Hyundai.
Anyway, my pre license back yard jaunts combined with paying attention and trying to understand what the car was capable of, really helped my know my boundaries. Honestly, I'd recommend finding a large, deserted parking lot, with no debris or barriers and push your car until you lose control. I think most drivers don't understand what it takes for you to really lose control, and then, what to do in order to get back into control. Obviously, take someone who knows what they're doing so they can explain things to you (ie oversteer, understeer, overcorrecting, turning into the spin).
Practice, practice practice...
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