I took 5 C1-C2 language exams in a year.

whoaaa, and that was it! I challenged myself to take 5 C1-C2 language exams in a year, and I’m finally here to share the journey with you :)

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iclal (иджлаль)
20 years old
living in milan/istanbul
languages: turkish, french, english, italian, spanish, german, russian, dutch, swedish

0:00 intro
0:40 the planning phase
1:20 WHY?
2:39 the exam order
3:29 spanish c1 (DELE C1)
4:56 french c2 (DALF C2)
6:59 russian c1 (ТРКИ-3)
10:19 german c1 (TELC C1 Hochschule)
11:36 italian c2 (CELI 5)
13:42 what this challenge taught me
15:20 some language wins
16:40 so what's next?

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this video is NOT sponsored

[iclaliano]

hey everyone! thank you all so much for being with me on this journey! the past 6 months have been super challenging, but this was a one-time commitment that I know will pay off for the rest of my life. the process itself was far from being smooth, and now it feels like all those years of hard work are finally paying off!
I want to take a moment to thank everyone who supported me during this. your encouragement and support means so much to me! this year brought a lot of challenges. along the way I lost so many people I once loved and appreciated, I realised I didn’t have as many friends as I imagined, and even some fellow polyglots cut me off. it wasn’t easy to experience, but at the end it taught me a valuable lesson: you don’t need people in your life who won’t stand by you or who feel threatened by your success. the world is full of kind, ambitious, and supportive souls, and I’m beyond grateful to have some of them here cheering me on!
for anyone feeling stuck or doubting themselves, I hope this reminds you that hard work pays off, even after years. I know it doesn’t feel easy, but keep trying, surround yourself with people who believe in you, and don’t let negativity and jealousy hold you back. thank you for being a part of this and I hope this video gave you a little boost of motivation as we head into 2025! ❤

[danielalmiro]

5 Language exams in a year... That is insane!!! I cannot even imagine how hard it was to keep focused all this time. You are such an inspiration.
Greetings from Brazil.

[chevalblanc]

I also noticed the frontal lobe explosion. Learning multiple languages speeds up your brain in ways you couldn’t imagine. Your achievements are truly incredible. You let us dream big. Polyglott-Queen!

[palmacate]

Public law exam, diritto pubblico, the nightmare of all (native) Italian students, and you passed it with 26/30, right after a language exam! You are amazing girl ❤️

[alamut]

Being a native Russian speaker I was puzzled by the complexity of the Russian language test! It seems ridiculously hard! Kudos to you Iclal. I share your passion for language learning and specifically I am a fan of language exams ;) My language achievements are modest: I have "only" C1 in English, German and Spanish. I am hoping to obtain C1 in French in 2025. I am 32 y.o and I am thrilled that people like yourself could achieve a lot at a very young age. You are my role model for language learning.
I hope to meet you one day and speak to you in a bunch of languages! Cheers!

[languagespedro]

As a person who has learned 8 languages myself, I can guarantee you that taking 5 advanced exams in A SINGLE YEAR and passing all of them (hopefully) is a bigger achievement. I do not think I could possibly do it, to be honest. I was shocked when I saw you were actually going to do this and all I have to say is that you are a true inspiration pulling this through and documenting the whole process. I appreciate how you told the story thoroughly and talking about the ups and the downs, because not many people show the negative part of their success.

Personally, I'm struggling a lot with my attention. Social media and other influences have really started to affect my cognitive skills and I remember my focus was much brighter when I took the English C1 exam back in 2020. The fact that you have done this really makes me get out of my conformism and study again, because language learning is a true passion of mine and I don't want it to gradually stop learning as intensively as I used to do. Life happens and as I get older, I tend to prioritize other stuff, but seeing your perspective, I'm simply throwing in the towel when I know I've been up for harder challenges in the past.

Thank you very much, keep it up and no matter how big imposter syndrome can feel like sometimes, your achievements vouch for who you are and what you have done in life. In dieser schnell ändernden Welt, scheint es, als ob nur Resultate zeigen was du bist. Не забывайте, что вы хотя бы вдохновили человека. Muchas gracias por el vídeo y por la inspiración!

[Zwologosss]

I’m 16 and speak 3 languages fluently, while learning 3 more simultaneously and honestly I’ve been slowly giving up because I was told to only do one at a time, and that I will mess up. Seeing this really helped me and reassured me that it’s actually more than possible, thank you lots :) Your consistency is INSANE 😭

[Yorecore]

i just wanted to say that you are the most genuine and honest polyglot i've ever seen!! and i'm not exaggerating. you're so relatable to me as someone who watches your videos. As a polyglot, i also struggle with inconsistency and burnouts whenever i learn a language, and i'm glad that you show that the path to fluency has never been easy. keep going iclal!!! we love you!!

[fangirlinneverland]

I feel like crying watching this. I recently also had a thing with my best friend and it hurted me deeply... you transforming all of your pain into an achievement which seemed so impossible and like something unreachable, just shows how powerful you are. You had a goal, you sticked to it no matter what. What a tenacious spirit. I genuinely feel so proud of you. You did an amazing job🫶🏻 now not only your amazing language skills motivate me to be better at languages but your emotional intelligence makes me want to be better version of myself too
Thank you for existing and being you, this video was so comforting💖

[spoonerboy]

Finally a polytuber showing prophency in languages without vanity and discipline!

[vladimiralvarado]

Amazing accomplishment. I took a C1 exam in French and fell short by half a point. I did not prepare much at all, because I was very insecure about my oral production. It turns out I did well in that portion. I am much older than you, but your discipline shows and you have inspired me to try C1 in two of my languages next year. My head has not been in the right place for about three years, but learning languages has kept sane.

[charmantcoeur]

Reminder folks, this is 5 C levels IN ADDITION to speaking English at basically native level and her actual native language. Iclal is the most underrated polyglot YouTuber, hands down.

[witekzak]

I speak 6 foreign languages to various degrees, I got my first two C2 certificates already, and I was planning to keep getting one a year. Passing 5 exams like this in one year is extremely impressive. I think you inspired me to consider increasing the pace a bit. Thank you for showing what's possible.

[Lingomi]

Sana helal olsun İclal! Sözlerin çok etkileyiciydi. Bana büyük bir motivasyon verdin!!

[MariaLea]

before watching the video, thank you so much. You motivated me to learn a new language (italian), it has been one year and I already can understand a lot of italian and I already read 8 books in this language. You are so amazing!

[Almaskan]

Iclal, ты крутая! Ты вдохновляешь меня к изучению языков, хотя мне почти 50 лет! Иди Вперед, не обращай внимания на хейтеров! У тебя большая армия Фанатов! Мы с Тобой!

[vmpirsk]

i remember when a year ago, i started learning russian and i wanted some tips on it. i checked on youtube and found you. since then, you are my biggest inspiration, and i even consider you my authority. you helped me with my russian a lot, and now i think im a solid A2. im so glad youre happy now and i hope youll never question your talent and work again.

[mizwriterlady]

People telling you you aren't allowed to be nervous and freak out before an exam is WILD I'm glad to see you have a very healthy, productive attitude about it! I'm glad I discovered your content. (New subscriber!)

[pianomanchristopher]

I've studied eight languages and become fluent in four of them, but wow! You've taken it to a whole new level. Congrats! I'm somewhat intimidated, but also inspired to renew my efforts to push forward.

[SoundHealer]

This is an insane feat! I speak two languages and now I'm starting on my third and it's super inspiring to see your story! Thanks for sharing!