Verified answer

I just looked it up in an online dictionary as I was unfamiliar with this word and it looks like you can use it at the beginning but it is often paired with the particle に.

Here are some examples of how this word can be used: http://jisho.org/sentences?jap=%E4%B8%80%E8%88%AC%...

If you want to change it from the adjective "general" to the adverb "generally," you add 'ni' as in

一般的に.

However, I think a more common way to express the concept of "generally" would be to say 大体 "daitai," as in

"日本人は大体学校で英語を習います。" I also like this word order better, but I'm sure what you had was perfectly fine.

If you want to use the "ippan" you could say "一般日本人は学校で英語を習います。" like, "Normal Japanese people learn English at school."