Levels 3 and 4 Spelling Bee

The spelling bee for English major students from levels 3 and 4 took place on Tuesday, November 10th. The initial turnout was much smaller than at the first spelling bee (for levels 1 and 2), but it gradually grew to a sizable one and remained consistent for the duration of the event. The Dean of the Faculty of Languages and Translation, Dr. Abdullah Al Melhi, opened the event with a speech in which he stressed the importance of improving one's English spelling skills, setting the tone for what was to follow. Just over fifteen students started out in round 1. They were asked words from a pre-randomized list of 425, arranged by syllable from one-syllable to six-syllable words. The initial rounds drew words from the one- and two-syllable word lists but the words got progressively longer and harder in subsequent rounds. Finally, only upper-level vocabulary terms such as "nonchalant," "aggressive," "approximate," "protagonist" and "extraordinary" were asked. Each final attempt by an individual contestant was followed by the projection of the correct spelling and pronunciation, as well as a sample sentence or phrase (the latter all taken from the online Cambridge Dictionary), on the screen behind the students for the benefit of the audience. There was a core of contestants who acquitted themselves extraordinarily well, and it became apparent that none of the final "three men standing" after a total of 16 rounds were going to be eliminated, not even if they were subjected to another 16 rounds. It was therefore wisely decided to award first prize to all three of them. These students were Abdullah Qasem Haroubi, Abdulrahman Ali M Alasmari, and Yahya Mohammad Asiri. The second and third prize went to Faisal Al Faifi and Muhammad Salem Saeed Alshehri respectively. We congratulate all these students on their sheer determination and the thoroughness of their preparation. The Vice Dean for Academic Development and Quality, Dr. Abdulkhaleq Al Qahtani, concluded the event with a short speech and proceeded to hand over the prizes to the winners, committee members and teachers who had mentored the students for the competition, assisted by the English Club committee members. Overall it was a very successful event, with great educational benefit to both the participants and audience members. Several audience members remarked on the high level of the competition, and longtime faculty members pointed out the significant progress made in this regard over the last few years. Committee Members: Dr. Mohammad Osman Dr. Nisar Ahmed Koka Dr. Nurul Islam Mr. Erich Beer Mr. Mohammad Adil Event Management: Mr. Ibrahim Alasmari Graphic designer: Mr. Salahuddin Abdulrrab Judges: Dr. Rafiq Shamiry Dr. Sorin Ciutacu Mr. Matthew Paul Date: 11/10/2015 Source: The Faculty of Languages and Translation Multimedia Contribution: MD Sirajul Islam