English is a global language in the twenty-first century, and this means thinking about English in global ways. This chapter reviews key issues and tensions in rethinking global “English” within the World Englishes paradigm. Four issues are highlighted: English as a work in progress; debates around “good” English; imperialism, power and resistance; and, globalisation, technology and transnational identities. This chapter illustrates each issue with examples from the past and present and from throughout the English-speaking world. It also shows how these four issues overlap and intertwine. These issues underpin the discussions of World Englishes and the remainder of this book.