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.

Learn from mistakes

Learn all the words you have misspelled in your school work or your spelling bee practice, and note them down in your word notebook. If you are finding it hard to remember the spelling of a particularly troublesome word, even if you do learn it, chances are that unless you revise it frequently, you are likely to forget it again.

Discover your style of recall

How do you best recall the spelling of a word -- by hearing, writing or speaking the word? If you don’t know it, you can find out by saying it aloud to yourself, or tracing it with your finger as if you are writing it, or picturing it in your mind. Whichever you find easier, use it to discover your best learning style.

Besides taking advantage of your learning style, you should involve several senses in the learning process to learn the spellings faster. So when learning a new word, read it, say it aloud and write it.

Recreate the contest environment

During a spelling bee contest, keeping the nerves in control can be more difficult than remembering the spelling because you have practised the spelling but not your performance.

So to familiarise yourself with the atmosphere and pressure, tell someone to ask you the spellings in a formal way, with other people around to get used to remaining focused and answering in front of an audience.

If your school or class is involved in the preparation and participation of the event, suggest to your teacher to conduct practice sessions, complete with judges and audience. Even have a spotlight or two shinning, as sometimes children find the stage lights blinding and distracting, leading to stage fright and failure.

Learn the basic rules

It is important to learn the rules of spellings, and more important to learn the exceptions to these rules because it is in these exceptions that most people make spelling mistakes.

Make a list of commonly-used words that are exceptions to these rules and learn these words.

Use flashcards

Research confirms that our brain acquires spellings through images so expose your brain to the images of words. Flashcards are best for this because larger images that standout without distractions leave a clearer impression.

You can take the help of electronic flashcards too and can find them in most websites that aid in learning spellings.

Snigdha Nandipati, the 2012 US National Spelling Bee winner, studied with 30,000 flashcards of the trickiest words. These were PDF flashcards created by a computer programme that took information from Merriam-Webster.

Parents and teachers can help a learner by using flashcards and quizzing.

Words everywhere

Surround yourself with words. Post spelling words, especially the tricky ones, anywhere and everywhere you can easily lay your eyes on them.

Keep a list of the words you are currently learning with you so that you can pull it out every now and then, when you get time and revise it. The ride to and from the school can be long and utilised well for this.

Don’t look at the misspellings

While learning spellings, it is usual to come across the commonly misspelled version of different words. Do not go through it to learn how not to misspell a word, because repeated exposure of the misspelled word can make a lasting impression on your mind and you will end up remembering the wrong spelling only.

Form relevant associations

Do not attempt to memorise a list of random words as it will be difficult. A better way is to have some sort of meaningful association between the words in the list, a common theme that glues them.

You can also use pictures, stories and other memory devices to link the words in the list so that thinking about an image or another word in the list will remind you of the spelling.

Keep calm

Keeping your nerves under control and being confident are two things that will make all your hard work pay, otherwise you may know your spellings but blank out when the buzzer plays.

So be confident and cool, and you will sail through any contest like a breeze.

Published in Dawn, Young World, December 10th, 2016