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Bilingual spelling bee returns to Decatur




Decatur students in the bilingual/ESL/dual-language program juggle English and Spanish in and out of the classroom.

While the languages carry many similarities, one sound that transcends language is the ding of a bell at spelling bees.

Next week 61 elementary students will compete to see who can avoid the ding the longest at a districtwide bilingual spelling bee Dec. 16 at Rann Elementary.

“Spelling bees are classic and have been around forever,” said Meredith Choate, Decatur ISD director of bilingual and ESL services. “The exciting thing about having the Spanish spelling bee is it really honors the Spanish language. We as a district and a region value the importance of bilingualism. Learning to speak and spell words in Spanish promotes bi-literacy, and that’s one of the main components and goals of our dual-language program.”

The top three students from the competition between third-, fourthand fifth-grade students will advance to the Region 11 contest.

Decatur ISD has held the bilingual spelling bee since 2017. Due to COVID-19, the spelling bee was limited to a competition between Decatur and Bridgeport ISD last year, without a chance to advance. The students are already working to take advantage of that chance to move up this year.

Among the unique challenges of spelling in Spanish are the various accent marks for each word.

Choate said students have been studying a list of words for the competition.

Beyond spelling, the bee offers other lessons than being able to spell a word on the spot, Choate said.

“There’s value in students preparing for a competition and presenting themselves up in front of a group, and learning how to win graciously, and not win, but still graciously and support each other as a team,” Choate said. “It’s one of those things that covers a lot of bases in terms of learning for students. When you have a dual-language program and a two-way dual-language program, we have both English and Spanish native speakers, learning both languages together. We’re trying to promote the value of both the languages and how it’s going to benefit students outside the school walls, especially when their world is predominantly an English world. It has a lot of benefits to it. Plus, it’s just fun. It’s fun for the kids and us to celebrate them.”

The spelling bee will begin at 8:30 a.m. for third graders, 10:30 for fourth grade and 1 p.m. for fifth grade.

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