English language learners should become successful intercultural speakers and global citizens promoting qualities that go beyond national boundaries. Supposed to be globally appropriate, global course books from Global North publishing houses reproduce coloniality and are neither neutral nor free of nationalism. Local(ised) teaching materials allow contextualised content but fall short, with negligible adaptions. Interviews with lecturers at Savannakhet University show: the global course books barely leave room for Lao students to express their experiences. In a return to the nation and to decolonise education, I argue for local(ised) material including pluralistic and multicultural forms of nationalism, building on the learners' diverse backgrounds.