There are no spelling bees here. We learn to read and write (with two alternate scripts, Latin and Cyrillic) in the first grade, and that's it. It's easy, unless someone has dyslexia, or a similar condition.
I think the concept would be entirely alien to them. Imagine trying to explain it to them for the first time.
You're right, it is totally alien. I still remember when I had started learning English, I was completely baffled why would somebody use double letters, or sometimes pronounce one letter one way and sometimes (same letter!) the other way...