Austin is 11 years old, with typical 11-year-old hobbies, such as building Lego games, collecting Pokémon cards, drawing comics, and playing with his brother, Daniel.
Less typical, however, is the memorizing talent of the Quispamsis student.
Take the whole periodic table, which he learned by heart in a week. Or the names and flags of every country in the world, of which you can recognize all “except maybe two or three.”
He currently works in the capitals of 195 countries.
“My dad had me do memory tests and apparently it was so good that I was off the lists,” said Austin, who is in 5th grade at Fairvale Elementary School in Rothesay.
WATCH / Julia Wright of the CBC confronts the genius of spelling
How do you deal with a 5th grade spelling genius?
The Austin Hee of Saint John is on its way to the 35th annual Spelling Bee of Canada Championship.
Austin’s great ability to recall information earned him a place in the top 50 in the Canadian Math Kangaroo Contest for four consecutive years, and most recently, the first place for the Atlantic region in the program series. Spelling Bee of Canada virtual coastline. competitions.
He is now the only New Brunswick student selected to compete in the 35th annual Spelling Bee of Canada Championship on June 12, 2022 in Toronto.
“I’m a little excited about spelling and a little nervous,” said Austin, who won first place for the Atlantic region with the word opponent.
Austin He, 11, is studying his words with his father, Forest. The Fairvale Elementary School student will travel to Toronto on June 12 to compete in the Spelling Bee of Canada. (Julia Wright / CBC)
Not always smooth navigation
Before Austin entered first grade, his parents, Forest He and Yan Guo, realized that he could remember things, such as books and signs, days after seeing them.
“That caught our attention, realizing that Austin has this skill better than other kids the same age,” He said.
That said, “It’s not always been an easy road for Austin.”
Being on a different level than other children his age caused him to lose interest in the subject from time to time.
“We often felt that Austin was not fully committed to his class,” he said.
“Since we moved to Saint John and joined Fairvale Elementary, we’ve received a lot more support from the school. I’d say the school has done a very good job guiding Austin’s learning and growth. which is also a big factor contributing to his recent victory. ”
Austin and the 4th and 5th grade French immersion teacher Mme. Connie Culligan, who says Austin has taught her a lot during her time in her classroom, especially about binary code and pixel art, two of her favorite subjects. (Julia Wright / CBC)
4th and 5th grade French immersion teacher Connie Culligan says Austin is “great to have in class.”
“I look forward to coming to school every day to work with Austin. As much as I can give him information to learn, he can challenge me just as easily.”
To keep him engaged in class, Culligan has hired Austin as his unofficial teaching assistant.
“The kids really admire Austin,” he said.
They know that if they need help with editing, they can go to him. If there’s anything in math that they don’t understand and I’m busy, they can ask. “
His skills “are seen as something to admire and not as a difference.”
Additional responsibilities also keep Austin sharp.
“My classmates usually use me as a human dictionary when we’re writing, even though there are about 20 dictionaries on the other side of the room,” Austin said.
Pneumonoultramicroscopic silicovolcanoconiosis
During the weeks leading up to the national championship, Austin stays up to date with practice tests and exercises at home with his parents.
“It didn’t take long for the basic training material to be completed. It just passed happily in the Oxford dictionary,” his father said.
According to Austin, the “coolest word” he has ever learned is pneumonoultramicroscopic silica volcanoconiosis, which is a lung disease caused by the inhalation of silica dust. It’s a mouthful, but there are always bigger challenges.
Austin He, whose birthday is Christmas Day, shows one of the Lego games he likes to build. (Submitted by Forest He)
“The longest word in the world is 189,819 letters and takes three and a half hours [to spell]”Austin said.
But he has more important things to focus on right now.
“I probably won’t spend three and a half hours saying a word.”
Some shorter words, he said, can also be complicated. In the Atlantic competition, some of the words he found challenging include floppy disk and opponent.
Live broadcast on CBC Sports
Austin’s goal in the Spelling Bee of Canada, according to his parents, is not necessarily to win.
“Our advice in Austin is that being part of the national competition is already a huge success,” Forest said.
“So you can be on stage yourself and enjoy spelling, which is something you really enjoy, instead of having to win something. We’ll be happy if you win, but that’s not something you like. we hope”.
Austin He with his parents, Yan Guo and Forest He. They have stressed that competing in the Spelling Bee of Canada is not just about winning. “Being part of the national competition is already a great success.” (Julia Wright / CBC)
Inevitably, there is some pressure associated with performance nationwide. But he has “different strategies” for dealing with nerves.
“The last thing I used to do was just repeat the periodic table in my head,” He said.
The 35th annual Spelling Bee Championships in Canada will be held in person on Sunday, June 12 at the Beeton Hall of the Toronto Reference Library. The event will be broadcast live on CBC Sports at 11:00 a.m. on Atlantic.