"Chasm" was my word. I was 11.
Chasm? You have to be kidding me. How is an 11-year-old supposed to know an adjective for an abyss or gorge? Desiree got off easily with "platypus". I mean seriously, everyone knows how to spell platypus, come on. It's an animal. Eeeeasssy.
I think we all can tell I'm still a little bit bitter about this loss.
I was recently reminded of this pivotal spelling moment in my life as I sat down with Maria, the 12-year-old that I privately tutor, and my cup of green tea on Wednesday afternoon. We were going over past simple verbs, or how to say "I went", "I ate", "I played"...etc. The list of verbs was in alphabetical order so we first learned to pronounce bought, and as we continued we came to taught, and then thought. As I sat there and watched Maria struggle to pronounce these three words that rhyme in English, I realized something that turned my whole world upside down. I'm a loser who gets really excited and interested in odd things -- we already know this.
They don't have spelling bees in Spain.
OK, back up. For those of you who don't speak Spanish, it's an easy language to listen to and then write because all of their vowels and consonants have one sound. The most important aspect is that each vowel has one sound. Even if there is a word with multiple vowels in a row, if you know the sound of the vowels, you can easily read the word and repeat it.
So, I sat at my flat's dinner table looking out at the Mediterranean and coached Maria through the idea that the "gh" is silent and that "augh" and "ough" have the same sound. I also had to have her make a chart of the "ed" past simple verbs as I read each one aloud because we make three sounds even though they are all spelled the same. For example; played ends in a "d" sound, parted ends in an "ed" sound, and stopped ends in a "t" sound. I know, each day I realize how strange and difficult English can be.
As I watched Maria write down "taut" in her notebook, the lightbulb in my head went off that these Spaniards don't have problems spelling in their own language. Forget about the weekly spelling tests and words to memorize. Students don't have to sit and memorize how to spell "apartheid" or "hemorrhage" at home before their spelling test the next day. Maria doesn't ever have to worry about staring a Spanish word like "chasm" in the face in front of her entire grade. Why is that "h" silent anyways?
Most importantly though, there is no yearly National Spelling Bee! Spain has no televised national program on a station like ESPN where the country waits for awkward, nerdy kids to get so nervous they pass out.
Maria was lucky because after I laughed to myself and then spouted off a long-winded story in Spanish to her about these contests we have in the United States, I instantly grabbed my laptop. We usually spend the last 15 minutes translating Justin Bieber lyrics (she says he is her boyfriend and it motivates her to get through the lesson), but on Wednesday we watched YouTube videos of the National Spelling Bee. She thought I was absolutely nuts as she watched these Americans stand in front of a microphone with numbers around their necks and spell in English, with of course, her crazy English tutor next to her looking at the videos and cracking up.
So, if you are as easily entertained as me, enjoy in our weird custom of spelling words in front of audiences:
1)The classic kid fainting:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06JUfkiMOVc
2) Boy is giving the word "numnah"... sounds like...:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fc1jSQkIyIo
3)My favorite, little boy can't stop laughing at funny word he is given:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfMNtRHtA5E
In case you are wondering, I actually confirmed that they don't have spelling tests or spelling contests like we do with my teachers today. I promise.
I have to add that I am fairly certain that is exactly how the fifth grade spelling be went down, but maybe not.
Until the next random thing happens and I feel like writing,
Kenz
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