Mesa 6th grader heads to district spelling bee 5 years after learning English

6th grader heads to district-wide spelling bee after overcoming language barrier

A Valley 12-year-old went from taking language classes to becoming a spelling bee champ, all within five years of learning English. FOX 10's Taylor Wirtz hears how this sixth grader is preparing for the district competition.

MESA, Ariz. - A Valley 12-year-old is headed to the district-wide spelling bee, having won her school’s spelling bee only a few years after she started learning English.

What we know:

Althea Smith and her mother moved to Mesa from the Philippines five years ago. 

She spoke little English and had to take language classes in addition to her normal school. Now, she’s spelling words that would give many American-born adults a headache.

Dig deeper:

Smith said it wasn’t fun being pulled out of her favorite subject in school—reading—to go work on her English, but she persevered. Because her two favorite subjects are reading and writing, she got plenty of practice.

That clearly paid off, because the sixth grader ended up winning the spelling bee at her school, American Leadership Academy Mesa North, last month. She is headed to the district-wide spelling bee for all ALA schools on Jan. 13.

What She's Saying:

Despite her ability to spell complex words, Smith said the language barrier still reveals itself in comical ways sometimes.

"It was really raining hard outside," Smith said. "My teacher told me it’s raining cats and dogs outside. And I was like, ‘there’s no cats and dogs, what do you mean, they would die!’ And everybody just started laughing at me."

Her favorite word is "hors d’oeuvre" because it has such a unique spelling. 

What's next:

Smith said she’s very nervous to compete on Tuesday, but she’s proud of herself.