More and more people in China are seeking tongue operations to improve their English.
Plastic surgeons say that with minor surgery, patients can improve their pronunciation almost overnight.
With China's growing internationalisation, people's determination to become more proficient in English has reached fever pitch.
The operation itself is simple and quick - just a snip of the muscle under the tongue using local anaesthetic - even if it does make you twinge. Plastic surgeon Dr Chu Jian is inundated with people begging for the operation because they want their English pronunciation to be clearer, freeing them from that tongue-tied feeling.
"Lots of people come to us asking for surgery hoping it'll help with their English pronunciation because they're taking interpreters exams or wanting to go abroad or get a job here with a foreign company," he said.
Dr Chu tells most of the people they do not need an operation because a strict regime of tongue exercises will work.
"There are lots of people who have serious problems with their tongues, affecting their pronunciation. They're not bothered about their Chinese pronunciation and they don't think about having an operation.
"But when they start to learn English they think it's really important, so they come to us," he said.