diff --git a/tests/conftest.py b/tests/conftest.py
index 91b9097cc..43a275cd6 100644
--- a/tests/conftest.py
+++ b/tests/conftest.py
@@ -1,7 +1,9 @@
 import pytest
-from spacy.en import English
+from spacy.en import English, LOCAL_DATA_DIR
+import os
 
 
 @pytest.fixture(scope="session")
 def EN():
-    return English()
+    data_dir = os.environ.get('SPACY_DATA', LOCAL_DATA_DIR)
+    return English(data_dir=data_dir)