Students participating in the ongoing Spelling Bee competition have spoken on how the competition is contributing to their educational development.
One of the participants, Alison Asante – a 12-year-old Junior High School form one student, speaking at an event dubbed ‘Party in the Park’ in Accra – described the competition as very educative and insightful.
According to her, there has been a significant upgrade in her reading, command over words and spelling. “Apart from the upgrade, my confidence level when it comes to reading and identifying words has also improved,” she added.
Miss. Asante further said her knowledge upgrade is not only limited to English language but includes all subjects, since it has become very easy for her to identify and understand most of the words she comes across.
She indicated that even though it has not been an easy task, the Spelling Bee has been very resourceful by providing all necessary aids to help make learning easier.
“We have been provided with resources such as e-Books for learning, virtual reading and spelling sessions every weekend, and homework,” she said.
The Spelling Bee participant is hopeful of emerging as overall winner at the finals, as she continues to read and learn more.
Richmond Boamah – father of another participant and a finalist – also noted that the competition has been very helpful in building confidence and improving the participants’ knowledge.
“The journey has been a very fruitful one, the confidence of my daughter toward all subjects has really improved. She is now able to identify words and understand them easily,” he said.
The Spelling Bee competition, which began in 2007, is a literacy programme that teaches primary and junior high school students between the ages 8 and 13 how to effectively improve their spelling and increase their vocabulary.
Salomé Dzakpasu, Programme Coordinator of the Spelling Bee, said the ‘Party in the Park’ event’s aim is to promote socialisation among competitors.
She indicated that a total of 58 spellers from sector-one – which includes Greater Accra, Tema, and Takoradi – of The Spelling Bee competition have qualified for the national final scheduled for February 3, 2024 in Accra; where they will compete with others from sector-two, which includes Kumasi, Sunyani and Obuasi.
