ad eugrus: I think Tim made some sort of self-assessment in one of his posts at the HTLAL forum. But not for all of the languages he presents in his latest video. Even if he were "only" at A1 level in all of them that would still be an outstanding achievement and he obviously has reached a considerably higher level in quite a few of his languages.

I remember talking to him on the subway in NY (or better saying him talking to me lol) - he is so enthusiastic he almost explodes :-) And I mean that in a very friendly and supportive way. In German I'd call him an "Energiebündel" (bundle of energy, live wire).

During a conversation at an Arabic restaurant he switched between several languages and was always keen to learn something new when I talked to him in German. Of course he makes mistakes and he struggles with some pronunciation issues (I do too by the way in quite a few of the languages I learn) but it is simply a delight watching him communicate with people and when I was in NY I only saw happy faces all around when he was trying to strike up a conversation.

I wish my time management was better but as things stand now I have enough to do with the languages I have learnt so far (with two or three more languages I would still love to learn up to level A2 or so, enough to have a conversation and take it from there). So, what Tim does is indeed fascinating to me. If he were to decide to use his languages professionally, he would have to settle for a smaller number and a higher level of proficiency I guess. But as long as this is not what he aims for, he most likely will keep adding languages and I'll be an interested and supportive observer in his journey.

There's no denying that it's super-chic to eat in an Arab restaurant in NYC.

But I still say, Robert, that you should have taken him to a Turkish Imbiss as well...;-D

ad JayB (...) There's no denying that it's super-chic to eat in an Arab restaurant in NYC.

But I still say, Robert, that you should have taken him to a Turkish Imbiss as well...;-D (...)

Actually, the Arab restaurant was kind of small and looked quite simple but you may be right that it was maybe somewhat of a chic place because it was in the Western Village. I'll ask Tim if he is up for a Döner next time I meet him ;-) Incidentally, I normally just say "Kebap" instead of "Döner Kebap" or "Döner", but I know that quite a few people say "Döner" (maybe more so in Germany than here in Austria).

I went to a super nice Turkish restaurant with another young avid language learner (idiomasprachler on youtube) - excellent service, delicious food and not pricey at all.

By the way, I had a wonderful time in the US. They definitely are one of my favourite holiday destinations. You know that I am not always in total agreement with the US government and some other institutions under its influence but I can honestly say that the people and the incredibly beautiful outdoors make the US a total winner when it comes to choosing a place for my vacation. I had never been to NYC before and was totally intrigued by the city's vibrancy. The cultural offer is overwhelming and the ethnic and linguistic diversity (with Spanish playing a rather dominant role it seems) a real treat to any language lover. I also loved Florida and stayed at one of the nicest hotels ever in Miami. Oh well, I'm already looking forward to my next holiday ;-)

:(

ad Vonk: (...) This part of your sentence surprised me a little! (...)

What I was trying to say is that the sheer number of his languages requires a lot of effort even if he were to speak them only at A1 level (which as a matter of fact already allows for some decent conversation and in my opinion is often underrated). And, yes, I find Tim's achievements so impressive because he is still so young (but then again, I would be equally impressed if he were 65 years old and managed to focus on his language learning as much as he does now). It is his passion that I love.

(...) I have found that it's not the hours I put in, but my concentration. (...)

I totally agree with you on that (even though I need a minimum of time to make at least some progress). This is also the reason why I don't just listen to audio content while doing other chores. I need to be able to concentrate and focus my mind on what I listen to. 20 minutes of attentive listening are much more useful to me than 3 hours of listening while trying to get some work done (or while doing physical exercises etc.).

I guess, my approach differs a bit from Tim's. While I would love to be able to speak 20+ languages, I simply don't have the time to study all of them (and I'm not ready to make time for all of them since this would force me to give up some of my other hobbies). So, I'd rather consolidate my knowledge in the languages I have studied so far. Of course, I'm always tempted to add a few more languages but I can't see myself speaking 20 languages fluently (or even having an A1 level knowledge in that many languages).

What we have seen (and heard so far) are the early stages of Tim's studying. I agree with you that it will be very exciting to see what happens next. The real challenge is to maintain (or, in some cases, even improve) one's level of proficiency. Sometimes this turns out to be much harder than getting started. Be it as it may, language learning is always an exciting process and one that opens up your eyes for so many other things in life.

What I find so intriguing about Tim is not the number of languages he studies (as impressive as it may be) but his passion and excitement. He clearly and obviously enjoys what he is doing and this passion does more to me in terms of motivation than any level of proficiency ever could.