Once More There's a Kind of Buzz All Over ARTESOL

Argentina TESOL, artesol@bcl.edu.ar

Spelling bees are busy working in 12 countries this year.

Franklin Electronic Publishers in cooperation with TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) has launched the second global spelling competition for students who are learners of English. Last year seven countries participated in the 2009 event. They were Argentina, China, Germany, Italy, Mexico, South Korea, and Turkey. This year, five more countries were invited to participate. Chile, France, Russia, Senegal, and the United Arab Emirates.

The event consists of two stages. First, a local event, which is held in each participating country, results in the selection of first- and second-place winners. For the second stage, winners from the different countries travelled to New York City, where they participate in the final competition. The champion is awarded a scholarship valued at US$10,000. In Argentina, this year's kickoff was held May 14, 2010, at the Centro Cultural Borges.

ARTESOL contacted the Argentine participating schools. Students from Colegio Boston, Colegio champagnat, Instituto Euskal Echea, Escuela Normal Superior No.°2 "Mariano Acosta," Instituto Federico Leloir, Resistencia Chaco, Instituto Sta Maria de Nazareth, and Colegio Nacional Buenos Aires competed at the local event.

Last year, an Argentine student, Clara Brunetto, was the champion at the international event held in New York on August 9, 2009. What really matters is that these kids have taught us a lesson on how to compete. The energy, enthusiasm, marvelous sense of humor, and camaraderie these teenagers showed during the local event was worthy of adults' admiration and perhaps even some healthy envy.

It is an honor for Argentina TESOL to have been given, once more, the opportunity to cooperate in the organization of this exciting educational event.

For further information, contact artesol@bcl.edu.ar or visit ARTESOL's Web site at http://www.artesol.org.ar.