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The ESB (Spelling Bee) is a prestigious English vocabulary and spelling competition, open to students aged 6 to 19 studying in public, private, and international schools across Asia and Europe.
There are 3 rounds: Preliminary, Semi-Final, and the World Final round.
The competition is aligned with the Common European Framework of References for Languages (CEFR). Students will be tested with writing, listening, and brainstorming test in the preliminary round, as well as writing, listening and oral spelling test in the semi-final and world final rounds.
• To promote the English language and challenge students to improve their lexical skills, particularly in respect to spelling.
• To inspire students to read more, in line with the theme "Read to Succeed," encouraging them to learn the major principles and patterns of English, expand their vocabulary, and work on their pronunciation.
• To enhance students' development of poise and communication under pressure and provide an opportunity for them to be exposed to the national limelight.
• To bring attention to the schools' pressing literacy needs and to prepare and equip teachers with the skills to teach English.
Date
9, 10, or 11 May 2025
Duration
1 hour
Mode
(1) Online at home
(2) Paper-based or Online at your school (if your school is hosting)
Area of Test
Task 1: Writing
• To correct misspelled words
Task 2: Writing
• To identify and spell words
Task 3: Listening
• To listen to audio and fill in words
Task 4: Brainstorm
• To think of 5 words that start with a given letter, according to the definition.
Date
14 June 2025
Duration
1 hour
Mode
Online at home
Area of Test
Task 1: Writing
• To correct misspelled words
Task 2: Writing
• To identify and spell words
Task 3: Listening
• To listen to audio and fill in words
Task 4: Oral
• To spell 5 words orally
Date
November 2025
Mode
Face-to-Face (venue to be announced)
Area of Test
Task 1: Writing
• To correct misspelled words
Task 2: Writing
• To identify and spell words
Task 3: Listening
• To listen to audio and fill in words
Task 4: Oral
• To spell 5 words orally on stage
The competition will be run in 3 rounds:
• Preliminary Round
• Semi-Final Round
• World Final Round
(1) PRELIMINARY ROUND
We offer 2 options for participants:
Option 1: Online at Home
• Date: 9, 10 or 11 May 2025
• Duration: 1 hour (during one of the dates above)
• Participants can take the test online from the comfort of their home.
• They must log into Zoom for invigilation.
• A laptop with a webcam, a stable internet connection, and a quiet room are required.
• The session is supervised by ESB Malaysia team.
Option 2: At School (Paper-Based or Online)
• Date: 7, 8, 9, 10, or 11 May 2025
• Duration: 1 hour
• Participants can take the test at their school or tuition center.
• The test can be either paper-based or online.
• Teachers at the school or center will handle the invigilation.
• The date and mode can be anytime between 7 to 11 May 2025, with the decision to be made by teachers.
(2) SEMI-FINAL ROUND
• Date: 14 June 2025
• Mode: Online at Home
(3) WORLD FINAL ROUND
• Date: November 2025
• Mode: Face-to-Face
• Location: Venue to be announced soon
INDIVIDUAL REGISTRATION
If you’re a parent, teacher, or student looking to register individually, please click on ESB Registration. You will be directed to our registration form. Select "To register myself/my child/students individually" and complete the subsequent sections of the form to register.
GROUP REGISTRATION (for school)
If you are a teacher and wish to register a group of students from your school or tuition center, please click on ESB Registration. Select "I am a teacher, please send me bulk registration form", and we will WhatsApp you shortly to explain the group registration process.
Alternatively, you may download the bulk registration form here:
• (National School) Bulk Registration Form
• (International School) Bulk Registration Form
For more information regarding group registration, please contact us at 012-3833218.
[Registration Deadline]
Please note that the registration deadline is on 1 May 2025.
Students should enroll according to their school grade or school type in February 2025. Students of lower grade can compete at higher level if they feel prepared for the level.
For students from Public/Private schools studying national syllabus and English as a second/foreign language:
• Pre-School, Primary 1 & 2: Bee 1
• Primary 3 & 4: Bee 2
• Primary 5 & 6: Bee 3
• Secondary 1 & 2: Bee 4
• Secondary 3 & 4: Bee 5
• Secondary 5, 6 & College: Bee 6
For students from International/Private schools studying English as a First language:
• Pre-School & Year 1: Bee 1
• Year 2 & 3: Bee 2
• Year 4 & 5: Bee 3
• Year 6 & 7: Bee 4
• Year 8 & 9: Bee 5
• Year 10, 11, 12 & 13: Bee 6
The CEFR level of each ESB category is shown below:
Bee 1: CEFR A1
Bee 2: CEFR A2
Bee 3: CEFR B1
Bee 4: CEFR B2
Bee 5: CEFR C1
Bee 6: CEFR C2
If you wish to learn more about CEFR, click here.
• All candidates will receive a digital certificate after each round. Those advancing to the Semi-Finals or World Finals will also be awarded a medal.
• Physical certificates and medals for candidates in the Preliminary Round and Semi-Finals will be sent to their respective schools if the school is a registered ESB venue. The list of registered ESB venues will be available after the Preliminary Round.
• If your school is not a registered ESB venue but you wish to receive a physical certificate and medal, we can courier the items to your home upon request. Candidates will need to bear the courier charges. The request form will be available after the Preliminary Round.
• Other World Final prizes will be announced closer to the event date.
All registered participants will receive 5 years worth of past year papers. Upon successful registration, we will send you a confirmation message containing the link to download the past year question papers, with login username and password.
There are 3 competition rounds.
(1) PRELIMINARY ROUND (May 2025)
• Test: Written (Task 1&2), Listening (Task 3) & Brainstorm (Task 4)
• Students will start with the preliminary round and compete among Malaysian students to qualify for the semi-final round.
(2) SEMI-FINAL ROUND (June 2025)
• Test: Written (Task 1&2), Listening (Task 3) & Oral Spelling (Task 4)
• The top 15% of participants from the preliminary round will be invited to the semi-final round.
(3) WORLD FINAL ROUND (November 2025)
• Test: Written (Task 1&2), Listening (Task 3) & Oral Stage Spelling (Task 4)
Force Majeure
In the event of force majeure, including severe acts of nature or weather events such as floods, fires, earthquakes, hurricanes, or explosions; war, acts of terrorism, and epidemics, the trip will be postponed until the situation improves. The final decision will be made by the ESB team, taking into consideration the prevailing circumstances.
(1) PRELIMINARY ROUND
Task 1 (Written)
Time Allowance: 10 minutes
• Participants identify and correct 10 misspelled words within a given text.
Task 1 (Written)
Time Allowance: 10 minutes
• Bee 1-2: Participants identify and correctly spell 10 words based on a picture and scrambled letters.
• Bee 3-6: Participants identify and correctly spell 10 words based on a provided definition and scrambled letters.
Task 2 (Listening)
Time Allowance: 10 minutes
• Participants listen to a short recording, read the text, and complete 10 gaps with the correct spelling of the words.
Task 3 (Brainstorm)
Time Allowance: 10 minutes
• Participants find 5 words that start and end with specific letters, excluding names and numbers. Closed compound nouns are acceptable, while open compounds and hyphenated compounds are not allowed.
(2) SEMI-FINAL & WORLD FINAL ROUND
Task 1 & 2 (Written)
• No changes from the preliminary round.
Task 3 (Listening)
• No changes from the preliminary round.
Task 4 (Oral)
Time Allowance: 1 minute and 45 seconds for each word, with a 30-second warning before disqualification
• Each participant spells five or more words orally. Please refer to (8) Rules for Oral Spelling Test for more details.
• The Judges and Pronouncers will be in complete charge of the contest. Their decision will be final in all questions. Any problem relating to the spelling of a word must be referred to the Judges immediately during the competition at the relevant stage. No complaints or appeals will be considered after the contest has ended.
• The judges listen carefully, determine whether or not words are spelled correctly, and uphold the rules. The decisions of the judges are final.
• Misunderstandings: The judges will not respond to the speller’s question(s) about the word and its pronunciation but, if the judges sense that the speller has misunderstood the word, the judges will direct the speller and pronouncer to interact until they are satisfied that reasonable attempts have been made to assist the speller in understanding the word within the time constraint of 1 minute 45 seconds. It is sometimes impossible to detect a misunderstanding until a spelling error has been made, and the judges are not responsible for the speller’s misunderstanding.
• Pronouncer Errors: The judges compare the pronouncer’s pronunciation with the diacritical markings in the word list. If the judges feel that the pronouncer’s pronunciation does not match the pronunciation specified in the diacritical markings, the judges will direct the pronouncer to correct the error as soon as it is detected.
• Spellers are allowed to bring a note pad and pen or pencil to practise the words before the competition (for their use only), but the speller must then spell the word orally during the competition. Extra paper and pencil are not allowed.
• In competition, spellers may pronounce words before spelling, after spelling, or not at all. However, you are encouraged to pronounce the word BEFORE spelling to ensure that you heard the word correctly. For example, if you are given the word baseball and you spell baseballs, your spelling will be considered incorrect. Or, if you are given absence and you spell absent, your spelling will be considered incorrect. The speller may ask the pronouncer to say the word again, define it, use it in a sentence, provide the part of speech, provide the language(s) of origin and/or provide an alternate pronunciation or pronunciations.
• The pronouncer strives to pronounce words according to the diacritical markings in ESB word lists.
• The pronouncer responds to the speller’s requests for a definition, sentence, part of speech, language(s) of origin and alternate pronunciation(s) as listed in the competition word list produced by ESB. The pronouncer does not entertain root word questions, requests for alternate definitions or requests for slower pronunciation.
• Homonyms: If a word has one or more homonyms, the pronouncer indicates which word is to be spelled by defining the word.
• At any time, the speller may request that a word be re-pronounced, defined or used in a sentence, or they may ask for the part of speech or the language of origin. But the pronouncer shall grant the request(s) until the judges agree that the word has been made reasonably clear to the speller. The pronouncer will not syllabify (divide into syllables) the word.
• Once you begin to spell a word, you will not have a chance to change letters once pronounced. A speller may repeat the word orally, provided letters and their sequence are not changed. The speller must indicate words with apostrophes, capitals and other punctuation marks, and any accent marks either over the letter or at the end of the word.
• Judges may disqualify any speller who ignores a request to start spelling the word within 1 minute 45 seconds.
• Misunderstandings: The speller is responsible for any misunderstanding of the word unless (1) the pronouncer never provided a correct pronunciation; (2) the pronouncer provided incorrect information regarding the definition, part of speech, or language of origin; or (3) the speller correctly spelled a homonym of the word and the pronouncer failed to either offer a definition or distinguish the homonyms. When a speller is given the definition of a homonym, he or she must spell the word which is defined.
• When a speller fails to spell a word correctly after all additional assistance as permitted by the rules of the competition has been provided, and / or the maximum time has expired, they must drop out of the competition. The pronouncer will announce the correct spelling of the word and a greeter will present a certificate of participation to the student. Another word shall be given to the next speller in line. The winner(s) will be announced accordingly.
• There is an element of chance in this contest. When only two spellers remain with equal points, the elimination procedure changes. At that point, when a speller misspells a word, the other speller will be given the opportunity to spell the other word. If the second speller spells the word correctly, the second speller will be declared the winner of Gold/Silver or Bronze medal. If both spellers misspell the same word, both will continue in the contest with a new word until the judges make final decision.
• In the event of a protest or dispute, decisions shall be based on “Macmillan Dictionary of English” the official contest dictionary. No other source shall be allowed.
• To minimize disruptions during this competition we ask audience members to turn off cell phones and pagers.
Task 1 (Written) - 10 words
• Each correctly spelled word earns 3 points, with a total of 30 points for 10 questions.
• Applicable to the preliminary round, semi-final round, and the final round.
• No partial points awarded for partially correct spelling.
Task 2 (Written) - 10 words
• Each correctly spelled word earns 2 points, with a total of 20 points for 10 questions.
• Applicable to the preliminary round, semi-final round, and the final round.
• No partial points awarded for partially correct spelling.
Task 3 (Listening) - 10 words
• Each correctly spelled word earns 2 points, with a total of 20 points for 10 questions.
• Applicable to the preliminary round, semi-final round, and the final round.
• No partial points awarded for partially correct spelling.
Task 4 (Brainstorm) - 5 words
• Each correctly spelled word earns 2 points, with a total of 10 points for 5 questions.
• Applicable to the preliminary round only.
Task 4 (Oral) - 5 words
• Each correctly spelled word earns 6 points, with a total of 30 points for 5 questions.
• Applicable to the semi-final round and the final only.
• No partial points awarded for partially correct spelling.
• Plural forms and capital letters are required for all tasks where necessary to obtain points.
• For the oral spelling task, plural forms are mandatory, but capital letters are not required.
Total Points
Total of 80 points in the preliminary round.
Total of 100 points in the semi-final round.
Total of 100 points in the final round.
Exam Level Progression
The exam level for the semi-final round will be one bee level higher than that in the preliminary round and will remain the same for the final round.
By registering for the competition through our online form, WhatsApp, direct contact, or schools, you agree to allow us to use your personal data, including your full name, phone number, and email, to send you communications such as welcome letters, payment reminders, updates, announcements, and materials related to future competitions and classes from Caya Academy Sdn Bhd.
Refund is allowed if you are unable to attend the competition on the scheduled date due to health reasons, and no alternative date is available. To request a refund, please provide a valid medical certificate.
For more information about the competition, please contact us via WhatsApp at 011-65505400 or 018-3733218.
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Fill in the registration form.
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Wait for your confirmation message via WhatsApp. We will send within 3-5 days.
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Yay, you're now part of the fam! Check your details in ESB Portal.
The registration for ESB 2025 is open till 1 May 2025.
Click the button below to register.
Join our weekly online lessons to better prepare for the competition.
English Vocabulary Online Lesson will help you improve your spelling and vocabulary, whilst CEFR Online English Lesson will help you get familiar with the CEFR syllabus.