What to do?

Lin writes: I am a businessman who works on foreign trade. I will attend the Canton Fair in April, but I am afraid my English won't allow me to communicate with overseas buyers there - For now, my oral English is not so good. Could you give me some suggestions on how to improve my oral English and listening in recent days?

My comments:

By "recent days", Lin, I think you mean to say "immediately", i.e. before the April event.

If I'm not mistaken, you're in your 20s. Even at that young an age, you must have studied the English language for years, and if you have learned anything in those years, you should have known that major breakthroughs in listening and speaking do not happen overnight.

Yet, this is something you are looking for. This year's Spring Fair opens on April 15. You have barely a month to prepare for it. You therefore look for dramatic improvements. Dramatic improvements, you know, call for drastic measures.

Ergo, try one or more or all of these things:

Take a voice lesson (see if a mesmerizing voice will compensate for imperfect pronunciation).

Read Krishnamurti (see if you'll wake up on the morning of April 15th a changed man, not only enlightened but fluent in English and as talkative as a simultaneous translator at a news conference at the National People's Congress).

Speaking of which, read Wen Jiabao's Work Report to the National People's Congress itself (see if it performs the magic of "warming your heart like a spring breeze" as it reportedly does for many a deputy. Further, see if the winds blow all your problems away).

Take cold showers only (see if it might work).

Got it? Quit looking for tricks and techniques, quick fixes and magic bullets. There's no secret to seek.

Point is, you don't have to do anything peculiar or particular. Relax and carry on doing what's been working for you. You're all right. Remember, foreigners at the trade fair are there to see products and cut deals, not there to hire the best interpreters. If your company's products are inviting, rest assured potential foreign clients will get over your perhaps imperfect English - they won't let it get in the way. So, get over it yourself and take it easy.

That said, if there's anything you might do differently in the next few weeks, you might want to further acquaint yourself with your company's very products. In other words, if you are currently reading a book of poems by Rumi, you may want put that down and read instead all the particulars about your company's products to be exhibited at the fair. Read them out loud too, for speaking exercise. Also, you may want to consult those who've been to previous Canton fairs, in order to learn the good lessons and avoid common pitfalls. Other than these, I don't see any need for confusion, distress or panic.

Easy for me to say because, you see, I already can guarantee you that come April 30, when this year's spring event closes, the organizers of the Canton Fair will once again declare it a huge success. It's been a success year after year without fail. And your company probably will claim nothing less than the same for its own participation - in total disregard to your current worries and concerns.

So chill out and have some fun. Enjoy the bazaar.