Competitive secrets of Spelling Bee champs
The pint-sized geniuses of the National Spelling Bee admittedly owe a lot of their success to natural abilities, but these super smart kids have also developed a number of specialized study tactics and tips that deserve a fair share of the credit, as well.
For example, if you want to win the National Spelling Bee, you'd better put down that "Harry Potter"and pick up a dictionary.
2004 winner David Tidmarsh studied by reading all 450,00 words in the dictionary. Just a little light reading.
Winning tricks of spelling bee champs
Talk to the hand.
No, really. Most spellers find it helpful to pretend to write the words into their hands, before answering.
Winning tricks of spelling bee champs
Don't let the giggles get the best of you.
Kennyi Aouad of Terre Haute, Indiana, unravelled into a fit of laughter at the pronunciation of the word "Sardoodledom" at the 2007 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, DC., May 30, 2007.
To be fair, though, "Sardoodledom" is a rather ridiculous sounding word.
Winning tricks of spelling bee champs
Get comfortable in front of an audience.
Spelling bees aren't just about smarts. They're also performances. So, you have to learn how to spell in front of people, without getting nervous.
To do this, Scripps recommends you grab a friend or family member and practice. Have them play the part of the pronouncer. Ask them questions, just like you would the real pronouncer. Maybe even get yourself a microphone to stand behind, and a bell for when you misspell.
Here, Brody Dicks of Park City, Utah, looks a tad nervous as he prepares to spell "souvenir" at the 88th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee on May 27, 2015. Perhaps a little more role playing might've helped.
Winning tricks of spelling bee champs
Breaks are for losers.
2004 Spelling Bee Champion David Tidmarsh worked seven days a week for months on end, even when he was sick.
Here, the 14-year-old wiz kid looks to the officials' table, after correctly spelling the word "gaminerie" to advance to round 15... a word he probably learned, while suffering from the flu... on a Saturday.
Winning tricks of spelling bee champs
What are you? Six? You're already behind schedule.
Snigdha Nandipati, the 2012 Spelling Bee champ, began training at age four.
So, perhaps dictionaries are the new pacifiers.
Winning tricks of spelling bee champs
Victory dances aren't just for NFL players.
2013 Spelling Bee Champion Arvind V. Mahankali went for the muscle flex, while posing with his trophy after winning the championship, in National Harbor, Maryland, May 30, 2013.
See that bicep? He clearly practiced in front of a mirror.
Winning tricks of spelling bee champs
A dictionary is the accessory that completes every outfit.
Champion David Tidmarsh carried his Merriam-Webster's dictionary with him on family vacations.
He later won the 2004 National Spelling Bee by correctly spelling the word "autochthonous"... a word which probably takes up a lot of room in a suitcase.
Winning tricks of spelling bee champs
If your father's not smart, get a new one.
2012 winner Snigdha Nandipati's father created a computer program that took info from Merriam-Webster, and created PDF flashcards of the most difficult words.
Here, she speaks to reporters after her win, as her proud software engineer father looks on behind her.
Winning tricks of spelling bee champs
Learn your diacritics.
They're those little pronunciation symbols that dictionaries put over words. And knowing them can totally help you correctly pronounce words you've never heard... Like, for example, "dī-ə-ˈkri-tiks."
Here, Sophia Han of Tiajian, China, contemplates the spelling of "vermicide," during the third round of the 88th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee at National Harbor, Maryland, May 27, 2015. Just picture those little symbols, girl.
Winning tricks of spelling bee champs
There's no such thing as a dumb question.
Well, that may be true; but there is such a thing as a question that's not allowed. So, you may want to brush up on the few you're allowed to ask during the competition.
You can, for example, ask what a word means, what language it comes from, how you say it, and what part of speech it is. You cannot, on the other hand, ask how it's spelled.
Winning tricks of spelling bee champs
Get used to making informed guesses.
It's pretty much impossible to memorize all 450,000 words in the dictionary. So, contestants need to make educated guesses instead, based on their knowledge of etymology, science, geography, history and literature.
Winning tricks of spelling bee champs
Flashcards are your friend.
Snigdha Nandipati, the 2012 National Spelling Bee winner, studied with 30,000 flashcards of the trickiest words.
The 14-year-old from San Diego won the coveted honor after correctly spelling "guetapens," a French-derived word that means ambush, snare or trap... something she mostly certainly did not fall into, thanks to all those flashcards.
Winning tricks of spelling bee champs
Your middle school Spanish class isn't going to cut it.
...And neither is only studying Greek and Latin roots. There are a ton of other languages that contribute to English words, as well. So, you're also going to want to study Hawaiian, German, Italian, Hindi, Dutch, Chinese and Quechua words. You know, just to name a few.
Arvind V. Mahankali won the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee by correctly spelling "knaidel," a German-derived Yiddish word. Duh.
Winning tricks of spelling b ee champs
Bring your A game.
Spellers at this year's 88th annual bee range in age from nine to 15, and are the cream of more than 11 million hopefuls who took part in local contests. They come from eight countries and all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories and Defense Department schools.
But, you know, no pressure.
Winning tricks of spelling bee champs
Some of the most interesting words follow no helpful patterns at all.
"Wysiwyg," for example, is a bit of a spelling beast. If you get a word like that, it may purely come down to luck and how hard you've hit the dictionary.
Rebecca A. Sealfon, a 13-year-old from Brooklyn, New York won the 70th Annual Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee by correctly spelling "euonym." Easy peasy, compared to "wysiwyg," no?
Winning tricks of spelling bee champs
If you win, try not to make the runner-up feel too bad about it.
Here, eighth grader, Justin Carroll from Wynne, Arkansas, celebrates heartily after winning the 1995 Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee in Washington, DC.
Carroll won after Majory Lazery of Copley, Ohio (pictured here on the left), failed to spell "Cappelletti." And she looks pretty S-A-D about it.
Winning tricks of spelling bee champs
You don't have to like root vegetables, but you do have to like roots.
'Cause if you're handed a word you don't know, a healthy knowledge of roots and etymology is your best chance of getting it right.
Many of the most difficult English words are made out of Greek and Latin roots. Take, for example, the word "telephone," which is comprised of the Greek root tele (meaning "at a distance") and phone (meaning "voice"). Similar words, like television, telegraph and telephone, were also coined for devices that operate over a distance.
Winning tricks of spelling bee champs
Make note of any special exceptions.
Some words just don't play by the rules. And the more you study roots, the more you'll notice that -- in some cases -- a root changes spelling or loses a letter, when combined with other letters.
Keep track of these special cases because they're exactly the sort of "make or break" words you might be dealt on the big day.
Winning tricks of spelling bee champs
Pick a sound, any sound...
Then, learn all the most common ways to spell it. There are usually a lot of them. Take the buzzing sound that a Z makes, for example. It can be spelled with an s, as in the word "busy;" a z, as in the word "buzz;" or an x, as in the word "xerox."
Here, Marcus Behling of Chandler, Arizona, ponders the spelling of the word "isagoge" at the 88th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee, May 27, 2015. And if this facial expression is any indication, he's no doubt reviewing all the roots and patterns he knows, right about now.
Winning tricks of spelling bee champs
Lastly, speak with authority.
Lena Greenberg of Philadelphia did in the fourth round of the 2012 bee, and you can too.
All those years of studying have totally prepared you for today. So, relax and have confidence in your abnormally large brain. You got this.
