Rural–Urban Differences in English Learning at the Secondary Level: A Study of Learning Environment and Pedagogical Challenges in Paschim Medinipur

Abstract

The gap between rural and urban areas is a big part of educational inequality in India, especially when it comes to learning English as a second or additional language.

Even though English is a required subject at the secondary level, students learn it under very different social, economic, teaching, and school conditions. This paper looks at the differences in learning English between rural and urban students in Paschim Medinipur, a district in West Bengal. The study explores how where students live, how much they are exposed to English, their family background, access to learning materials, private tutoring, use of digital tools, teacher qualities, classroom activities, and feelings about the language affect their English learning. Recent studies in West Bengal show big differences between rural and urban students when it comes to anxiety about English and how well they perform. A 2025 study found that rural students feel more anxious about English and there is a strong link between anxiety and lower language skills. Another 2025 study showed that urban students perform better in English, while rural students feel more anxious in class. Research on students who study in Bengali also shows that factors like family background, where they live, whether they are the first in their family to learn English, and how much opportunity they have to learn the language are important. This paper uses a mixed-method approach comparing students and teachers from both rural and urban or semi-urban schools in Paschim Medinipur. It argues that the differences between rural and urban students should not be seen as a difference in their ability to learn, but rather as differences in the chances they have to learn, the resources available, and the conditions at school. The paper concludes that to make English education more equal across different places, we need teaching methods that fit the local context, training for teachers, environments that use English a lot, better access to digital tools, group learning, and ongoing chances for students to use English in real-life situations.