As National Spelling Bee revs up, local judge shares kids’ biggest obstacle

Seattle historian Feliks Banel knows how to properly pronounce the word “acetylene” when it’s written əˈsetlən,-ˌēn. He has to know how to use the dictionary pronunciation guide when he judges the King and Snohomish County Spelling Bee.

“It’s always just a highlight of the year for me,” Banel told Seattle’s Morning News on KIRO Radio.

As the Scripps National Spelling Bee got underway on Tuesday, Banel shared how many of the kids got ready, because what can often knock them out of the first round is nerves.

“Kids went down so fast because they’re so nervous,” said Banel. “So the second or third year we did it, we did a practice bee. (The kids) got to come up to the microphone, we’d give them an easy word like ‘cat’ or ‘dog.’ Then the bees went much longer because they got over that initial nerves of being up on the stage and spelling any word.”

Banel can also tell the difference between the kids who have been studying a lot, and those who are less prepared. Even though it’s well within the guidelines to ask the origin of the word, the definition, and for the judge to repeat it, many contestants are probably just stalling.

“It’s not just about spelling. It’s about the process of learning words. You have to do a lot of reading, you learn the history, you learn word origins, you learn about culture,” said Banel. “People who are really successful at this don’t just memorize words but they understand different languages.”

The Scripps National Spelling Bee began Tuesday morning with a computerized spelling and vocabulary test, with onstage rounds kicking off Wednesday on the way to Thursday’s prime-time finals. Four students from Washington are among those competing. You can follow their progress and see if you can compete with the kids here.