As part of the activities connected to the 3rd Interschool Spelling Bee Competition, students from the ICT Extracurricular Class conducted a special interview with Mr. Cristopher Cano, English teacher and Head of the English Department at Colegio Concepción. This conversation allowed the school community to learn more about the origin, purpose, and meaning of this academic event, which has become an important part of English Week.
During the interview, Mr. Cano explained that the Spelling Bee was first created in 2024, in the context of the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the corporation and Colegio Concepción. From the beginning, the event was developed as a joint project between the English Department and the English Immersion Program, with the intention of creating a meaningful opportunity for students to use English beyond the classroom.
One of the main ideas shared by Mr. Cano was that the activity was designed to project Colegio Concepción towards the wider community. For this reason, the competition has invited schools not only from the corporation, but also from different communes of Greater Concepción. Over the years, the event has gathered an important number of participating schools, creating a space where students and teachers from different educational projects can meet around a common goal: strengthening the learning and use of English.
Mr. Cano also highlighted that the Spelling Bee gives students a different opportunity to demonstrate their abilities in the foreign language. Through this experience, participants are able to develop vocabulary, spelling, pronunciation, listening skills, confidence, and perseverance in a setting that is both academic and motivating. More than competing, students are invited to challenge themselves and show what they can do with the language.
Another important aspect of the interview was the value of sharing experiences among schools. Mr. Cano explained that activities like this allow students and teachers to learn from one another, recognise different educational realities, and celebrate the importance of developing a second language. In this sense, the Spelling Bee becomes a meeting point where English is not only studied, but also practised, performed, and shared.
For Colegio Concepción, this event has been a very positive experience, as it helps position the school as a reference within Greater Concepción in the promotion of English through extracurricular and meaningful activities. It also shows how language learning can grow when students are offered real opportunities to participate, communicate, and engage with others outside their usual classroom environment.
This interview also reflects the role of ICT as a tool for communication and school memory. By recording, organising, and transforming the conversation into an article, students from the ICT Extracurricular Class helped preserve the story behind one of the most important academic events of English Week.
Experiences like this remind us that every school activity has a wider meaning when we take the time to listen to the people behind it. Through Mr. Cano’s reflections, the Spelling Bee can be understood not only as a competition, but as a project that promotes English, community, confidence, and meaningful learning.
Article and interview by the ICT Team
Edited and enhanced with AI support
