How did she do it? Three questions with U of T grad who speaks 11 languages

Xin Yi Lim arrived at the University of Toronto in 2019 with plans to become a cardiac surgeon, but she has since achieved a feat many would consider equally daunting: learning to speak 11 languages.

After shifting her focus during her undergrad, Lim is set to graduate from U of T this week with a master’s in Hispanic linguistics with a collaborative specialization in diaspora and transnational studies from the department of Spanish and Portuguese in the Faculty of Arts & Science.

Originally from Malaysia, Lim says she fell in love with Toronto’s diverse community and hopes to continue living in the city. Following fall convocation, she hopes to pursue a career that combines her passions for graphic design and languages.

“I wish to work in a capacity where I can converse and capitalize on all these skills I have amassed over the years,” says Lim, who also earned her bachelor’s degree from U of T and is considered a hyperpolyglot – the term generally used to describe someone who can speak more than five languages. 

“I’d love to continue making meaningful connections with people and touching the hearts of others by learning their culture and language.” 

In the near term, Lim is eager to find opportunities in entertainment – perhaps with Disney on Ice or Royal Caribbean Cruises – to showcase her figure skating skills. She competed with the Malaysian junior national figure skating team and was a member of U of T’s Varsity training squad.

As she prepares to embark on a new chapter, Lim spoke with U of T News about how she learned so many languages, her university experience and, of course, what language she plans to tackle next.  

How did you learn all these languages?

I will give a lot of credit to my home country of Malaysia. Growing up with five languages in my household built my brain to absorb different languages. 

My brain works in different channels and compartments. With a photographic memory, learning languages is like translating these photographs in my head into these mental compartments. 

Due to my perfectionism in linguistics and eagerness to not make mistakes, I’ve developed resources, tools and mechanism to prevent cross-linguistic contamination. For languages that are in similar linguistic families – like Portuguese, French, Italian and Spanish – I created mechanisms for active recall to help me avoid mixing them up while speaking.  

How has studying at U of T shaped your path? 

I came to U of T wanting to become a cardiac surgeon and now I have 11 languages under my belt. After my third semester of doing life sciences, I quickly found my love for linguistics and political activism. 

I had to take political science and social science – and if I had never taken these courses, I wouldn’t have known I was so passionate about diaspora studies, transnational studies, anthropology or sociology.

That’s one thing about U of T that I really appreciate. Some may complain about its academic rigour, but I think it worked out in my favour. The well-rounded education I received here is hard to find in other institutions in Canada.  

Being at U of T has enriched and amplified my experience in language and my love for different cultures. I took Italian in my second year and Turkish in my third year. In my final year, I had some wiggle room for more electives. So, I decided to take Portuguese for Spanish speakers, which was so super, super helpful. Then I took French and Swahili. 

I believe the selection of different languages at U of T offers a great plethora of knowledge and I want to keep that going. 

If you could instantly become fluent in one language, which one would it be? 

Arabic is incredibly difficult to learn. I would really like to master this language – hopefully soon. 

I also want to learn Greek, Albanian and Armenian, seeing as there is a huge population of these three ethnic groups in Toronto and I want to be able to connect with those cultures.