This paper is in two parts.  The first part provides an overview of the ways in which the subject ‘English’ within the school curriculum has be changing over the last few decades.  It seeks to answer the question: What is English in the curriculum?  Drawing the construction of the subject ‘English’ within the Southeast Asian context, it looks at some of the influences that have contributed to the shaping of the subject ‘English,’ specifically focusing on two broad influences.  First, the processes of globalization have contributed to the spread of English worldwide while it, at the same time, has come into contact with other languages in the milieu in which it is used.  Recognition of plurilingual environments and local varieties of English have challenged the ways in which English is conceived of and used within school settings.  Second, the changes in technology have contributed to shifts in the way we think of English in the new semiotic environments which have arisen because of new technologies. Recognition of multimodality has challenged the ways in which meaning-making is thought about in the subject English. The second part of the paper exemplifies these trends and explores pedagogical responses in English lessons.