Even before I had children and decided to raise them bilingual, I was already a language lover. Growing up in Peru, I used to love listening to my parents speak in English when they didn't want us to understand what they were saying. Eventually, I went to a bilingual school and learned English so they could no longer do that. In fifth grade, I started taking my first French lessons and I was hooked. Later on, in college, I took a few Portuguese classes and I've also dabbled in Italian.
I would give ANYTHING to dedicate the rest of my life to learning languages. That's why I was so in awe of Timothy Doner, who's only 17 years old and already speaks 23 languages!!
I don't even know how that's possible–especially because it's not like Timothy has been learning languages since he was a small child. In fact, the teen didn't learn Hebrew, his second language, until he was preparing for his bar mitzvah at age 13. He was interested in Israeli politics and music, so he continued learning Hebrew with his tutor and then decided to move on to Arabic.
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The list of languages Timothy speaks include all the more common Europeans ones such as Italian, German, French and Spanish, but it also includes some I'd never heard of such as Wolof and Ojibwe. This teen undoubtedly gifted because it seems like it takes him no time to pick up a new language, regardless of its difficulty. According to an interview in The New York Times, Timothy learned the Arabic alphabet in just four days and was reading fluidly in a week!
Timothy is what's called a hyperpolyglot, a person who can speak six or more languages fluently. And, believe it or not, he's not alone! The teen admits he doesn't have the same level of fluency in all 23 languages, but what amazes me the most is his intense and relentless interest in languages. I highly recommend you watch the video below so you can be just as amazed as I was. And, just so you know, become a hyperpolyglot is much easier, if you're already bilingual… one more reason to keep at it with your children!
Embedded content: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOiXtWcQ8GI
