“The hegemony still persists”: is Global Englishes–informed pedagogy a turning point in English language education?

In an era in which English serves as a global lingua franca, language education needs to evolve to reflect its dynamic, diverse, and pluricentric nature. Grounded in Global Englishes paradigm, this qualitative study explored how Chinese and Thai university students responded to Global Englishes-informed pedagogy in order to raise awareness of English linguistic diversity. A total of 14 undergraduate students (seven from each country) participated in two rounds of semi-structured interviews, submitted post-course reflective journals, and joined a cross-national online focus group. Qualitative content analysis was conducted using a hybrid of deductive and inductive coding. The findings revealed three core developments. First, students shifted from viewing English as a fixed, native-bound code to embracing it as a pluricentric and user-driven resource. Second, through experiential activities including multilingual debates, tourist interviews, video analysis, and peer-led seminars, students critically reflected on native-speakerism, developed ownership of their English use, and recognized the legitimacy of local varieties. Third, despite these ideological shifts, students reported a persistent tension between progressive classroom practices and traditional assessment systems that continue to privilege native norms. These insights reinforce the transformative potential of Global Englishes-informed pedagogy embedded in reflective, dialogic, and culturally responsive learning. The study calls for systemic change in teacher education, curriculum design, and assessment policy to support a more inclusive and contextually relevant model of English language teaching.