In light of ambitious governmental visions for the future, this chapter examines the place of English as a medium of instruction (EMI) in the Arab Gulf states, with a particular focus on the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The chapter begins with an overview of higher education in the region, followed by a discussion of EMI within tertiary education in the UAE. Attention then turns to the role of English within the school and preschool systems of the Gulf, with specific reference to developments in state schools in Qatar and the UAE. The second half of the chapter discusses two sets of strategies: First, for supporting Arabic-speaking Gulf students while studying in EMI higher education contexts, and second, for better preparing these students at the school level for later success in their higher education studies. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the implications for English-medium education in the paradigm shift from former monolingual assumptions to new plurilingual norms in the Arabian Gulf.