Little British-Indian kid Arpan Sharma, taught himself how to speak French, Italian (when he was 7), German (at 8), Spanish (at 9), Swahili, Mandarin, Polish, Thai and Lugandan (Uganda); and of course he speaks Hindi and English.
His dream is to travel the world as a doctor, and he wants to be able to speak the native tongue of the country he works in. He is 10.
My primary education was in England too. My mother would force me to study Hindi every Sunday; I hated it. All I wanted to do was read and make snowmen. I speak English, Hindi and Spanish — but there is room for a lot of improvement in all three. Constantly changing countries of residence can teach you new languages but can also destroy your language basics.
Hats off to this child who sitting in one country seems to be fluent in 11 languages.
In Dubai, it is not uncommon to find Middle-Eastern nationalities who speak, read and write English, Arabic and French fluently; they are brought up with these languages. Also, with a large Indian/Pakistani population, many understand and can speak basic Hindi/Urdu.
I’m so envious of multi-lingual people. But if this 10-year-old kid can teach himself, I suppose I have no excuse if I want to be one of them.