Why have Indian Americans been winning the National Spelling Bee?

Since I recently showed the movie 'Spellbound' to my class, I was curious to find out who won this year's Scripps National Spelling Bee tournament in Washington, DC. For the seventh time in the past 12 years, a child of Indian parentage has won. Is there a reason why Indian Americans have been winning the annual Scripps Spelling Bee? Is it inspiration from Nupur Lala, of 'Spellbound' fame, the high value placed on education and a competition for learned people, or something else?

Articles abound on the topic and here is a sampling from The Imagined Universe (2010), Sepia Mutiny (2005), and an ABC report about the current Indian winning streak (2010).

English Grammar 'Rules'

Despite the fact that students seek hard and fast rules for grammar that are ALWAYS true, they don't seem to exist in reality. I used to cringe when I'd hear radio talk-show hosts on NPR use the word 'less' with a countable noun like people, probably because I had just taught my students that they should use the comparative 'fewer' in that situation. However, as is stated in this VOA (Voice of America) interview, grammar, like other aspects of language, is not as fixed as we were taught to believe decades ago. Grammar reflects the way people use the language. As has often been noted in this blog, as English becomes more and more globalized, what is accepted as standard structure will continually change with the expanding 'speakership.'

Words with Multiple Meanings, Part 2 (CAE Use of English Practice, Part 4 (a))

It's hard to excel at the Use of English paper without paying attention to vocabulary. One of my favorite parts of Paper 3 is Part 4, where you find the one word that fits in three different sentences. You can increase your chances of success on this part of the exam if you take notice of common or simple words that can be combined to create multiple meanings. For example, the verb 'put' can be used alone or combined with various prepositions to take on different meanings: 'put on', 'put off', and 'put down.'

Here are some practice sentences that I created for my CAE students. See if you can come up with the solution. Answers are at the bottom of the page.

1. You look really run ________. You shouldn't go out tonight.
The students were worried that they might come ________ with the swine flu.
She's been feeling very _______ since her cat died.

2. Though I didn't want to go to the conference, she twisted my _____.
Many people would give their right ______for a chance to meet Brad Pitt.
The long ______ of the law caught up with the murderer from Texas.

3. That went ______ like a lead balloon.
The robber said, 'Hand _____ the money!'
My father made me turn ______ the key to the car after my accident.

4. I'm new to this area and don't know my ______ around.
My little brother always gets his _____ by crying.
Our teacher went out of her _____ to help us.

5. I was so angry that I gave him a ______ of my mind.
The violinist played that ______ beautifully.
The police had to ______ together all the evidence to find the culprit.



Answer Key:
1. down 2. arm 3. over 4.way 5. piece

Tune Your Ear to South African English

Since the 2010 FIFA World Cup (soccer championship) is about to take place in a week, you might like to hear what South African English sounds like. What expressions are used in Johannesburg that aren't used here in San Diego? Here's a sample. Maybe some of these expressions will catch on in the USA after this global event.