PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A 6th grade student in Montgomery County, for whom English is a second language, is hoping to represent the region at the Scripps National Spelling Bee this summer in Orlando.
Jonathan Xi, a 12-year-old Keith Valley Middle School student, says his strategy is simple: He reads. A lot.
"First of all, I read a lot of books. I think that is one of the best strategies. I see some people reading the dictionary. I read a bunch of hard books to try and improve my vocabulary," Xi said. "And on top of that, I memorize roots and word cells and stuff like that."
He's currently reading "The Odyssey."
Xi and his family speak Chinese. His mother, Hong Lin, says he learned that first then then English.
"When he was, I think, from 1 year old, I started buying some English books, and read for him every night. And later he started to learn more difficult stories by himself," she said.
"And I appreciate the Library. Jonathan spent a lot of time in the library when he was a small boy."
Related
Xi is the winner of the virtual 2021 Scripps Bucks/Mont Regional Spelling Bee. He is advancing to compete in the virtual qualifying rounds. He says the virtual spelling bee is more like a test for the in-person event in Orlando.
"You have about a hour and 30 minutes, right. And they give you 50 questions, and they give you the definition and language of origin. And there is a button. And when you press it, it tells you the word and you have to type it in."
Xi says he has plans after high school.
"It’s complicated," he said. "I actually went from engineer to video game developer to surgeon, but I had a lot of interest when I was a kid. But right now, after high school, I plan to go to university and probably get a master's degree in computer science or something."