•Neoliberalism through knowledge economy has affected English (higher) education in Indonesia.•English as a linguistic (cultural) capital can be accrued and transformed into a respected position.•Active communication should attentively be consecrated in university life. The impact of globalisation and neoliberalism on education – in the form of a globalised knowledge economy and an increasingly corporatised university sector – continues to affect English teaching (hereby called English studies) in Indonesian higher education. In this context, English should be understood as linguistic capital, a significant part of cultural capital, that can be accrued then transformed by exchanging it for a respected position or another form of symbolic recognition. This article evaluates how English studies in Indonesia can enable Indonesians to navigate these global trends. Considering this system of interactions, each university should seek to increase students’ capital by ensuring that English proficiency is emphasised in university life so that students become familiar with it. Through this balanced practice of consecration, Indonesians can accrue legitimate English (linguistic) capital, which is valued highly in the global world – and which may have been overlooked by policy makers and curriculum developers.