| Abstract: |
This study investigates the complex relationship between mother-tongue proficiency and English communication skills among secondary school learners in India. The primary objective was to examine how native language competence influences English language acquisition and communicative abilities in educational contexts. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the research hypothesized that strong mother-tongue foundations positively correlate with enhanced English communication skills.
The study included 420 secondary school students (grades 9–10) from diverse linguistic backgrounds across urban and semi-urban schools in three Indian states. Data were collected through standardized language proficiency tests, classroom observations, and semi-structured interviews. Results revealed a significant positive correlation (r = 0.68, p < 0.01) between mother-tongue literacy levels and English communication competence. Students with strong native-language foundations demonstrated superior metalinguistic awareness, vocabulary acquisition, and grammatical accuracy in English.
The findings further indicated that bilingual instructional strategies improved overall communicative competence by 34% compared to English-only approaches. The discussion highlights the cognitive advantages of mother-tongue literacy in second-language development and outlines key pedagogical implications for multilingual education frameworks. The study concludes that integrating mother-tongue instruction strengthens rather than hinders English language learning and advocates for balanced bilingual educational policies in Indian secondary schools. |
