Spelling Bee

Yesterday we finally had the provincial spelling bee! Last month, I held a district wide spelling bee at my high school for grades 10 and 11. Then, for the two winners, I held weekly practices to learn how to listen to words and spell them.

It is actually very hard for the students, not because they do not know how to spell the words, but because they do not understand what I am saying. Most of the kids at my school have never heard a foreigner speak. They rely on what their teachers tell them. Unfortunately, most of the teachers in my school have not really heard a foreigner speak. Some of the words they say are completely mispronounced. This is because all they have to go on are what their teachers taught them when they were in school. An example of this is the word "clothes". If I told a student to spell this word they would probably give me a very strage look and a wrong spelling. All of the teachers here say the word "clothes" as "closes". It took me awhile to realize they were saying "clothes".


The winners from my school

Anyway, the two students and I left for Kampong Cham (my provincial town) in a taxi early Saturday morning. We arrived at the high school there and quickly ate some breakfast. There were seven other schools there, each with their two students, PCV, and co-teachers. The competetion lasted about 3 hours. It was nerve-racking for me! I think I was more nervous than the students. They did incredibly well! Last year I don't think any of the students palaced. This year my grade 10 student, Srey Mum got 4th place, and my grade 11 student, SuyPheng got 2nd place (both out of 7). I was so proud! It is a wonderful feeling to work hard for something in Cambodia and see results. The students walked away with a great sense of pride. Next year, I hope to work with outher provinces in Cambodia and take the spelling bee to the national level.



First project in Cambodia: completed!