This paper argues for new departures in English as an International Language (EIL) pedagogy for the social majorities "in their own interest," not that of the privileged stratum of metropolitan elites. It is incontestable that the unstoppable spread of global English is a product of cultural, socioeconomic and political hegemony that is ultimately imperial in origin and in significant measure neo-imperial today. EIL is prime cultural capital for a privileged trans-national and comprador elite within global capitalism. In many ways, the tidal wave of English and Western neo-liberal educational values and curricula, spurred and reproduced by global and local elites, is arguably a "Trojan horse of recolonization." The first half of this paper sketches a notion of a two-tier, leaner more "downshifted" or minimalist model of simpler English for mass instruction, grounded on BASIC 850 and VOA Special English. The second half of this paper describes in brief detail these two models, followed by a conclusion that recommends empirical research on what can actually work, and a possible "mini-research center" to guide and galvanize investigation in the field. (Contains 27 endnotes.)