Mother Tongue or English Medium?

The economic and educational debate over teaching children in their home language versus English, and why parents often choose English despite evidence on early learning.

One of the most debated questions in Indian education is which language children should be taught in.

The case for mother tongue

Children understand concepts better in a language they speak at home.
Research worldwide suggests early learning in the home language improves reading and comprehension, which then helps learning other languages later.
NEP 2020 recommends the home language or regional language as the medium of instruction at least until class 5, where possible.

The case for English

Economic returns: English skills are linked to higher earnings in India. A study by economists Mehtabul Azam, Aimee Chin and Nishith Prakash found that fluent English speakers earned significantly more than those without English.
Mobility: English opens access to higher education, national and global jobs.
Parents’ demand: many parents, including poor families, choose English-medium schools for these reasons.

The problem of poor English teaching

Many “English-medium” schools have teachers who aren’t fluent, so children may learn neither English nor subject content well.

A middle path

Bilingual or multilingual education: learning in the home language early while teaching English well as a subject.
Gradual transition to English in later grades.

Political debates

Language is also a political issue in India, with debates about Hindi, regional languages and English in schools.

The confused classroom

In a new English-medium school, the teacher explains science in broken English. Children memorise answers without understanding. In a nearby school teaching in the local language, with strong English lessons, children understand concepts and gradually build English skills.

Thinking English medium automatically means better English

Without skilled teachers, English-medium schooling can hurt both language and subject learning.

Key takeaways

Early learning in the home language improves comprehension.
English skills bring significant earnings premiums in India.
Parents often choose English medium for mobility.
Bilingual approaches aim to combine both benefits.