THIS year, the word lists of the RHB New Straits Times National Spell-It-Right (SIR) Challenge continue to profoundly test students’ knowledge of vocabulary as well as skill in spelling. Past years have shown that although luck sometimes played a big part in their success, only the most prepared spellers triumphed in the end.
SIR content committee head Hazlina Aziz, as well as the presenters and judges who presided over this year’s State Challenge competitions were asked to give their assessment on how the participants in this year’s competition have fared.
For the most part, they all agree that the major stumbling block to the participants’ success in the spelling bee lies in their lack of familiarity with the words being tested. Alan Bligh, a SIR presenter for the past five years, says: “For the most part, participants were struggling with the spelling because their vocabulary is very limited. They were not familiar at all with many of the words and merely made calculated guesses that sometimes worked.”
Lack of preparation and nervousness is also a reason for failure. As presenter, Soefira Jaafar remarked, many who have good vocabulary “flounder under pressure on stage”.
Find out other reasons students were unsuccessful at SIR this Sunday, Sept 6, in New Sunday Times.