Welcome Eikaiwa Schools to the Spelling Bee
An investment of 5-10 minutes today may transform your students and your school. So please read on. At any time, go to our form and just become a member. If you're from a native English-speaking country, you probably know what a Spelling Bee is. It's a verbal spelling recitation contest of words. Watch any spelling bee videos on Youtube (unless you search NPO Spelling Bee Contest) and you'll see words that most eikaiwa teachers, let alone any of our students, couldn't spell.
However, our program is a phonics-based, progressive program made up of three parts that will allow participation from every student nen-cho age to 6th grade. The three parts are:
1 PREPARE Study period - Students get lists and study on there own
2 PROVE Individual tests -Teachers give one on one tests to kids for levels they've studied
3 PERFECT Contest season - Schools can send student representatives to our intra-school contest
Scroll down to read more.
Let's be real. We know you're busy. You probably have a reading program at your school already. Yet, you teach phonics and, for the majority of students, it doesn't quite sink in. Our program addresses your issues with letter identification, phonics, reading, and even pronunciation. There's just something really effective about letting kids see multiple words and compare their sounds and spellings.
So how does it work?
First, the NPO Spelling Bee Contest program consists of 26 levels named A-Z. Each level contains a word list of phonics themes, word families, minimal pairs, etc for students to concentrate on. Just like any textbook or materials producer, we don't stand over you and tell you there's only one good way to run the program. Basically, it's NOT meant to be incorporated into your curriculum. It's meant to run independently from your lessons, giving your students (and their families) a simple English study that can be done daily at their home. Still, the handouts and word lists are usually so useful and applicable that they worm there way into curriculums. Teachers find all kinds of creative ways to use them. Overall, the schools have complete autonomy with how to use the materials.
Second, schools become members of NPO Spelling Bee Contest. The best way for students to enter this program is through member schools. Now, in case it's not obvious, NPO stands for non-profit organization. Listen, we are as non-profit, volunteer as it gets.
Schools pay 5,000 yen for a membership fee. The fee entitles members to the following benefits:
1) A set group of levels' materials (Click here for more)
2) 20 Level CDs and corresponding worksheets for students to do self-study (Click here for more)
3) The right to send student representatives to the intra-school contest within one year of your last paid membership fee (Click here for more)
4) Extra goodies, like digital files of Bee-related Bingo worksheets and word cards. New materials are always being produced
5) Association into a group of school owners that are more educationally inclined than the average one. We are a group who know the quality of our schools far supersedes the nationwide chain schools. We support each other because we believe in the cause of raising Japan's English ability for the benefit of this great country. (Click here for our current member schools)
6) All linking and promotion that comes through this website and our presence in the media.
Third, member schools run the program according to what fits them best. The NPO Spelling Bee Contest has a standard format along with ideas and recommendations on how to execute the program. Still we realize that all schools are different and have various activities. The Spelling Bee is supposed to be a piece in that mix. Contrary to most events, like Halloween and Christmas, the Spelling Bee program is 100% English education-focused. Therefore, the Bee becomes a major selling point for schools. Within the whole program, the only part that member schools don't have autonomy with is the intra-school contests. Yet, participation is not mandatory. So, in a way, you do.
Moving on, let's talk more about the three parts of the NPO
Spelling Bee Contest program.
PREPARE: Study Period
This is the first step. Students take word lists home. The word lists have 50 words on the front and the same 50 word with their Japanese meanings on the back. Basically, every kid should start from Level A. Because spelling is such an easy concept to grasp, even confidence-lacking parents have no problem assisting their kids with our English study at home. The kids have to prepare to succeed.
Here's where the study CDs come in. You can sell, rent, lend, or give these CDs to the students trying the levels. Our members have done all of the above with these CDs. (The NPO only requests that schools don't copy the CDs) You can easily recoup your membership fee and even pay for contest entry or your own school rewards through these CDs. The corresponding worksheets are supposed to go with these CDs. The worksheets show the themes of each level very clearly, focusing the kids on phonics and word families. (i.e. -at, -op, -ed words) Our standard timing for this period is Golden Week to Obon. However, some schools run the program year-round. You can run it whenever the program fits into your yearly schedule.
PROVE: Individual Testing
Probably the biggest reason our standard Spelling Bee season lasts from Golden Week to Obon is because the summer vacation allows schools to easily fit in individual testing. Kids are off. Kindergartens and elementary schools that provide outside work for schools are off. That's why. Anyway, individual testing is exactly that. The teacher gives a randomly chosen 10-word test and the student spells the word verbally, not writing. If a kid passes, he/she moves on to the next level. Seven correct spellings is our standard passing grade, but schools can make it lower or higher.The tests are a way for kids to prove what they've learned. Each school should set their own timing for these tests. Some schools let students do one level a month before or after the kids' lesson. Some schools set aside Saturdays or a few mornings during summer vacation. Some testing is time limited. There are many ways to conduct the individual tests. Membership will gain access to more specific ways that members execute this step. In fact, schools can even charge for these tests. However, once the students know how to take the tests, they often last less than 2 minutes per level.
PERFECT: Contest Season
While the individual tests allow every kid in your school to participate, the contest season brings out the best in your school. In this last step, not all kids will join, usually based on personality or skill level. The first way to utilize this part of the program is to run your own school Bee. NPO Spelling Bee Contest has a standard contest format. Schools are welcome to copy it, or you may run one based on your own creativity. Nevertheless, the NPO Spelling Bee Contest runs a contest in September between fellow member schools. We can also run Regional Bees as the program spreads around different areas of Japan. We had our first Nagoya Regional Bee on August 27, 2017. The NPO contests follow our standard contest format. We've run this event for four years. Thus, we've had a chance to work out lots of kinks. Overall, the contest season gives a chance for kids to perfect their knowledge. Please continue to explore this site and check out the videos on Youtube. When you're ready to join or for inquiries, go to our form.