The tide of English language teaching is slowly turning in favor of English used in the global context. As the number of people who use English as a foreign language outnumbers the number of native English speakers, non-native speakers have realized that their voice needs to be heard and it should no longer be ignored. Ones linguistic competence should not be measured by native-like standards, and English as a lingua franca serves as a tool to redefine this traditional notion. The focus of English language teaching should primarily be communication and getting the message across. If two people are able to successfully hold a conversation using English, i.e. if their message is understood by their interlocutor, they are considered competent users of English as a lingua franca. English language teaching in school needs to become communication-oriented, and it needs to equip students with communication skills which will enable them to confidently use English on a global level. The present study involved 174 students; 96 students from a Finnish upper-secondary school and 78 students from a Croatian grammar school. The findings show that Croatian students feel more open towards the idea of English as a lingua franca becoming a part of their English language teaching, and they also express the need to know more about different English language varieties. Finnish students feel that English language teaching in their school should remain unaltered, and the idea of English as a lingua franca is not as appealing to them as much as it is to Croatians. Both groups hold that classes need to be more communication-oriented. However, native-speaker model is still prevalent as they judge their competencies according to it. It is the teachers responsibility to familiarize students with different English language varieties and the notion of English as a lingua franca.