Some champions are born, but most become champions by their efforts. Spelling bee champions are among those who work hard to win their title. This hard work spans years and involves many others too who help the champs get their spellings right.
Being able to know the correct sequence of alphabets in thousands of words, both in the English language and those of other languages that are used in English, is no mean task. And this becomes all the more impressive when you consider the fact that there are so many logical and also weird rules regarding English spellings and numerous exceptions to each rule. Surely, remembering it all, that too under the pressure of a competition as unnerving as the spelling bee, is the work of someone who is focused, determined and dedicated.
But sometimes, with all the hard work and abilities, a participant sails through all the rounds effortlessly but that one word needed to win the title is the one he misses by a single letter. Tough luck can be tough to beat!
competition as unnerving as the spelling bee, is the work of someone who is focused, determined and dedicated.
But sometimes, with all the hard work and abilities, a participant sails through all the rounds effortlessly but that one word needed to win the title is the one he misses by a single letter. Tough luck can be tough to beat!
Spelling bee competitions take place the world over and at all levels, be it among classmates in primary classes, within the school or nationally. Most of those who participate in it have a number of things in common, like memorising spellings for hours, reading anything and everything that they lay their eyes on, knowing their dictionary inside out, and so much more. Let us look more closely at these and some other things that ‘bee champs’ do to become masters of spellings.
Read, and read some more
Nothing brings you more in contact with words and their spelling than reading, so this is the number one way to get your spellings right.
Try to choose good books, those that help in expanding your vocabulary by introducing you to new words. Do stop to look up the meaning of the difficult words in the dictionary so that you know precisely what they mean and their usage, rather than just trying to guess the meaning from the context of the text.
Besides this, read anything you lay your eyes on – billboards, pamphlets, banners, newspapers, news alerts on the TV screen, bumper stickers and everything else. The more you read, the better will be your vocabulary, spellings and understanding of the meanings of words.
Make a word book
Write down new words, the most interesting one and the ones with the trickiest spellings, in a spelling notebook for your record and reference.
Keep adding and revising the words. Place the notebook where you have easy access to it, like your bedside table, and go through it, or just the newly-added words when you are in bed and getting ready to sleep.
You know research has proved that you are likely to remember what you read just before going to bed. So use that time to learn the difficult words.
Know your dictionary
It may sound like a boring choice but a spelling bee winner David Tidmarsh, shared that he carried his ‘Merriam-Webster’s dictionary with him on family vacations’, and read all 450,00 words in it!
So to win a spelling competition, you need to make the dictionary your best friend. Refer to it as often as possible, though learning all the words in it will be asking too much.