Home   >   Community   >   The K. International School student who came close to winning the Bee GAUTHAM GANESH ELANGO

The K. International School student who came close to winning the Bee GAUTHAM GANESH ELANGO

By on June 12, 2014

English is neither Gautham’s nor his parents’ mother tongue but he placed second in the last Japan Times Spelling Bee contest, beating all the other 35 hopefuls. Gautham speaks Japanese, English as well as Tamil.

We asked 12-year old Gautham about his experience.

Gautham, where are you from?
Gautham: I am from India, and I came to Japan around 10 years ago.

What brought you to Japan?
Gautham: I came to Japan along with my father who came over here on his job assignment.

What was your expectation when you went to the competition?
Gautham: My expectation was to give my best to win.

How did you prepare for the contest?
Gautham: I studied using the official list provided by the Scripps Spelling bee. Additionally I read about etymology and interested in knowing Latin & Greek derived words.

Did you know the meaning of the words that you have spelled correctly?
Gautham: Yes. I knew the meaning of most of the words I spelled.

What was your expectation when you went to the competition?
Gautham: My expectation was to give my best to win.

Gautham family

“We encourage him to read and look up for the new words we come across by quizzing him randomly.”

Gautham’s mum and dad

How did you prepare for the contest?
Gautham: I studied using the official list provided by the Scripps Spelling Bee. Additionally, I read about etymology and am interested in knowing Latin & Greek- derived words.
Did you know the meaning of the words that you have spelled correctly?
Gautham: Yes. I knew the meaning of most of the words I spelled.

You could have easily won until you missed the word “snippet”. What happened there?
Gautham: I had heard of the word snippet before, but I got confused with another word, and I wasn’t able to recall it very well.

It was Bostrom’s third try this year and she made it.  Would you too be competing again next year?
Gautham: I will try and make it to the Japan Spelling Bee next year as well. 

Do you enjoy reading books?  If so, what sort of books do you read?
Gautham: I enjoy reading books, especially adventure, science fiction, and comedy.



How much reading do you do?
Gautham: I read whenever I get a chance.to.

 

 

About TF Tribe