English, regarded the most fit language for mondial communication, learning, and teaching, has been favored in many countries, yet counters globally discerned nationalistic trends. Thus increasing Japanese xenophobic nationalism shows that neoliberal language acquisition advocacy does not automatically entail upgraded international communication. Two distinct qualitative studies containing Japanese workers, introduce two paradoxes: the workers’ interest in acquiring English as international communication medium conflicts with their concurrent hesitation to communicate with Asian Others given their negative Other-attitudes or anxiety for possible communication deficit. Another paradox is having to support communicative skills and tilts that seem to match neoliberal ideology in order to criticize its very idee fixe with linguistic abilities. One ought to contemplate appropriation of skills and dispositions for judicial and transformative aims in language use.