COMMUNICATIVE ENGLISH AS A FUNCTIONAL SKILL IN NEP 2020: REDESIGNING ENGLISH CURRICULUM FOR INDIAN CLASSROOMS
Keywords:
Communicative English, National Education Policy 2020, Functional Skills, Curriculum Redesign, Task-Based Language Teaching, Indian Education, Language Pedagogy, Common European Framework of Reference AlignmentAbstract
The National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020) emphasizes functional competencies and skill-based learning over traditional content-learning approaches. This mixed-methods study explored the integration of Communicative English as a functional skill within the NEP 2020 framework and proposed a redesigned curriculum model for Indian classrooms. The research employed a pragmatic mixed-methods design conducted across three phases over 14 months (August 2023–September 2024), including curriculum analysis, classroom observations (n = 120 lessons), teacher surveys (n = 245), and student performance assessments (n = 1,240) across five states. Results revealed significant gaps between policy objectives and classroom implementation. However, systematic intervention combining teacher training, curriculum redesign, and technology integration demonstrated substantial improvements: student confidence levels increased by 42%, and functional language use improved by 48% in intervention classrooms. The intervention group achieved an overall effect size of Cohen's d = 1.21 on communicative competence measures. Findings offer practical recommendations for enhancing English language teaching in India, addressing multilingualism, and preparing students for international communication demands.
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