We Japanese tend to think that "only Japanese people are bad at English".

However, there are foreigners who are not loved by English language -- probably a lot of them.

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In September of this year, I was remotely presenting and auditing at an international conference.

The event started at 18:00 Japan time and ended at 02:00, which is an unbelievable time, however,

Still, considering that I had to get on a plane, stay in a hotel, have trouble with the menu at a restaurant, and listen to a lecture in my worst condition due to jet lag..., this is a

"Paradise"

In the questionnaire after the conference, I gave a rating of "5" on a 5-point scale when asked if I would like the conference to be held remotely in the future. I also mentioned this in the comments section.

Well, that's beside the point.

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At the conference, I was listening to a presentation by a young researcher (female) from Eastern Europe, who seemed unsure of herself, her voice was quiet, and her argument was not clear.

"Oh, this is a college student. And she's probably the type of guy who was pushed into doing a presentation by her professor.

I've seen it through.

So, as expected, she could not answer any of the questions from the chairperson (the chair of the session).

I experienced a painful time when I heard the chairperson telling the presenters who couldn't answer the question what the word "evaluate" meant, and the air was heavy.

This question period ended when time ran out, but it was a very bad aftertaste.

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The correct answer in this case is

"Even if I don't understand the question, I don't stay silent, I just go on and on with my bullshit answers in bullshit English"

This is practically the same thing as "silence".

However, the effect is that the audience will look at me with "guffaws", "ridicule" and "warm, kind eyes".

Also, "engineers who don't love English" like me can understand my strategy (use bullshit English, push through bullshit answers).

If it goes well, the session will be a lot of fun.

"Let me try a question, if the guy whose English is this bad is asking such dumb questions"

Such feeling seems to coming to the audience, I think.

As a result, the session I attended was so exciting that the delighted chairperson even took a commemorative photo remotely.

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The Engineer Who is not Loved by English" is useful internationally.

Lower the threshold of the "field" as much as possible to make everyone relax.

Of course, you have to be prepared to be a clown in public, but if you have the courage, you can do it.

After that time, no one will remember you.