Can the Monkey King break through the ‘Jin-Gang-Quan’ (金剛圈)? Overcoming the multiple contradictions in EMI education

Upholding a critical, ethical, multilingual stance presents numerous challenges amidst a myriad of institutional, infrastructural, and societal pressures. Despite significant breakthroughs, such as translanguaging theories and pedagogies and the evolution of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) principles, the journey towards a more inclusive and equitable English language education remains fraught with difficulties. Monolingual English continues to dominate assessments and academic publishing, and critical scholarship often appears powerless. I discuss the need for critical research to be grounded in praxis and discuss the struggle of EMI researchers against entrenched and renewed coloniality within increasingly neoliberalized academic institutions. I explore these contradictions in an imaginary dialogue between multiple voices. I then propose a research initiative (‘PAA-STELE’) aimed at overcoming the dominance of monolingual English assessment. I conclude that through collective action and a steadfast commitment to critical-ethical principles, we may effect change, albeit slowly and incrementally, within the English language education field. Copyright © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.