This paper reports on a research project which asked scholars to speak about their multilingual and collaborative academic practices. This case study sheds light on the complex and multilayered linguistic choices made by multilingual scholars to comply with the diverse requirements of a multilingual academic life, namely the adoption of EMI (English Medium Instruction). This contribution starts by reconstructing and discussing from a multilingual perspective the different concepts composing EMI. Then, the results of the empirical study, a questionnaire for researchers, are shown by means of descriptive statistics (for the closed questions) and content analysis (for the open questions). Scholars' agency to move across languages depending on their assignments and tensions surrounding the use of English in European universities are emphasised in the discussion. This study allows us to see in a new light the concept and research on EMI, and to envisage new relations between English, instruction, and publication in Higher Education, embracing the broader concept of 'English as one medium in academic life'.