When you think of the world-class spellers who populate the National Spelling Bee, you might visualize girls and boys hovered over dictionaries, memorizing obscure words.
On his way to the Bee semifinals on Sunday, Charles Fennell, 13, of Bloomfield, says his preparation is not like that at all.
"My studying is more focused and exact," says Charles, who's also a voracious book reader. "I learn roots-- partial words that make up words. I learn language patterns-- how certain languages spell certain words."
He has successfully put those techniques to work, winning this year's Connecticut Spelling Bee, and blazing through the national event's quarterfinals. So far, he's correctly spelled grandrelle, Gallicism, demersal and amphora.
His mother, Felicia Griffin-Fennell, PhD, is consistently impressed by Charles' vocabulary, hard work and technique.
"It's not just being able to memorize and string these letters together," says Griffin-Fennell. "It's about him understanding where the words come from, where the words have moved along their history and where they've landed now."
Dr. Griffin-Fennell is Director of the Academic Fellows Program at the UMass College of Social and Behavioral Sciences.
The Scripps National Spelling Bee semifinals, which will be held with the contestants appearing by remote, air Sunday at 7 pm, on ESPN2.