Via globalization, an increasing number of young English language learners have gone to English-speaking countries to acquire English skills as early as possible. As a result, quite a number of learners have returned to their countries of origin with new sets of skills and competencies. Focusing on this new group of English learners, this study examined English language teachers' perspectives on these study abroad returnees with respect to their English skills and classroom participation. Fourteen English teachers in secondary schools in South Korea participated in this study through interviews. The results show that English teachers were somewhat dismissive of returnees' "advanced" or "communicative" English skills that do not comply with local curriculum requirements and assessment standards. This disparity together with returnees' particular difficulties in adopting local norms and classroom participation potentially demands new approaches in language teaching and assessment. The article discusses how to develop more globalization-responsive teaching practices to deal with the challenge brought by globalization in general and study abroad returnees in particular.