A Philadelphia fifth grader is heading to the national spelling bee for the second year in a row.
Jayden Jiang, who attends Girard Academic Music Program, qualified to compete in the Scripps competition, which is celebrating its 100th year, on May 27-29 in Washington, D.C., after taking first place in the Philly regional bee at the WHYY Studios in March.
Jiang, 11, said he felt "glad, relieved and happy" to win the local competition and return to the big stage. During the Scripps spelling bee, contestants compete in four segments — the preliminaries, quarterfinals, semifinals and finals — to determine who takes home the Scripps Cup, cash and a host of other prizes. All rounds of competition will be broadcast on ION platforms, which is available for free through most cable and streaming providers.
Last year, when Jiang competed as a fourth grader from Philadelphia Performing Arts Charter School, he made it to the quarterfinals and tied for 60th place out of 245 spellers. He correctly spelled "ingot" and "passacaglia," and defined "grouse" in the word-meaning round. But he was stumped by the word "rood," which is pronounced like "rude" but means cross or crucifix. He said he never heard of it before, and spelled it incorrectly as "roude." Rood is in the rearview now, though, as Jiang has learned lessons from last year's competition and is preparing daily for his return.
"Last year at the national spelling bee, I learned that while it's impossible to memorize the entire dictionary, I can study the roots and patterns of words from different origins to help me spell words that I never knew," Jiang said.
Provided Image/School District of Philadelphia
In March, Jayden Jiang, a fifth grader at Girard Academic Music Program, won the regional spelling bee for the second straight year.
On Zoom last month, Jiang described his study habits, Scripps goals and what he likes doing outside spelling:
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
PHILLYVOICE: With the national spelling bee coming up, how are you preparing and studying?
JAYDEN JIANG: I studied for about an hour each day, but recently, I've been studying more because it's getting closer. I studied past national spelling bee words and searched for words I didn't recognize when I read. I also studied the roots and patterns of words from different origins. I really enjoy studying the roots of words and observing the spelling and pronunciation patterns of words. For example, in Spanish, the "J" makes the "H" sound. In French, there are many silent letters that you have to take the time to memorize in order to spell them correctly.
PV: How are you training differently this time, compared with last year?
JIANG: Last year around this time, I had only studied the 4,000 words of the championship and 500 words for the third round (lists provided by Scripps) because my goal was to make it to quarterfinals — and also because I didn't know what else to study or how to study. This year, I try to study the roots and patterns of different words from different origins. I also try to study more words outside of the 4,000 words.
PV: What was it like when you got the word "rood" last year?
JIANG: I had never heard of the word "rood" before. … When I was given the word, I knew my journey to the 2024 National Spelling Bee was over, but I was OK with it because my goal last year was to make it to quarterfinals and I achieved my goal, so I accepted the result and enjoyed the process.
PV: Do you have a new goal this year?
JIANG: To do better than last year!
PV: What's your process when you're in the spelling bee and you get a word you don't know?
JIANG: I don't really have any mental techniques to figure out what the word means and how it's spelled because I don't have any formal training on spelling. I simply enjoy reading and memorizing words I've seen. This year, I tried to learn the roots and patterns of words. But since I studied this by myself and not from a teacher, I'm not sure how much it will help.
PV: What do you enjoy reading?
JIANG: I have loved to read since I was very young. I enjoy reading different types of books, such as children's encyclopedias, novels. My favorite series is "Harry Potter" and magazines such as the Week Junior. Besides reading, I spend a lot of my time practicing my violin. I also enjoy building Legos, solving Rubik's Cubes, watching TV, playing Batman, hiking, solving logical math problems, playing with my brother and doing science experiments at home.
PV: Do you have a favorite word? If so, why?
JIANG: My favorite word is "juxtapose." … I just like the pronunciation of it.
