Blog · 2 October 2026
Learning in Hindi, writing the exam in English
Many children understand best in Hindi but write their exams in English. What NEP 2020 actually says, and a practical way to use both languages.
Many children in India think in one language and write their exams in another. A Class 9 student may follow 'How Forces Affect Motion', the new NCERT chapter on Newton's laws, far better when it is explained in Hindi, and still need to answer the paper in English.
This is nothing to hide or feel bad about. But it helps to be clear about what policy actually says, and what it does not.
The National Education Policy 2020 discusses this in paragraph 4.11, 'Multilingualism and the power of language'. It says: 'It is well understood that young children learn and grasp nontrivial concepts more quickly in their home language/mother tongue.' The sentence is about young children, and the paragraph's main recommendation is about the early years: 'Wherever possible, the medium of instruction until at least Grade 5, but preferably till Grade 8 and beyond, will be the home language/mother tongue/local language/regional language.'
So NEP does not say that a Class 9 or Class 10 student must learn in Hindi, or will do better by switching. What the same paragraph does say is useful for older children too: 'Teachers will be encouraged to use a bilingual approach, including bilingual teaching-learning materials, with those students whose home language may be different from the medium of instruction.'
CBSE's rules fit this. Its schools generally teach in Hindi or English, and its 2026–27 curriculum adds that schools 'must offer at least one language native to India as an option for Medium of Instruction from preparatory stage (Grade 3) up to Grade 12', where the main medium is not such a language.
For a parent, the practical message is simple. Understanding can come through Hindi. The exam answer still has to be written in English. A child needs both, and the two can be built together.
The risk: mixing up two goals
If a child memorises English answers without understanding them, the knowledge is fragile. It breaks the moment a question is phrased differently, and about half of CBSE's board questions are now competency-focused, built around situations the child has not seen before.
If a child understands in Hindi but never practises the English terms and sentences, the answers suffer in a different way: the idea is there, but it does not reach the paper. The aim is both: deep understanding, and the confidence to express it in the language of the exam.
Keep the technical terms in English from day one
Explain the idea in whatever language your child finds easiest, but keep the subject's key words in English from the start. 'Acceleration', 'inertia', 'photosynthesis' and 'denominator' stay as they are, even inside a Hindi explanation.
This way, your child meets those words in the exam as old friends, not strangers. A short list of English terms at the back of each notebook, added to chapter by chapter, does a lot of work over a year.
Understand in Hindi, answer in English: a weekly routine
First, your child explains the topic aloud in the language that comes naturally. Then you ask for the key words in English. Then your child writes a short answer, three or four sentences, in English, in their own words, using those terms.
Own-words answers are better practice than copying model answers. They show what the child actually understands, and they build the sentences the exam needs. Check the answer against the textbook for the terms, not for word-for-word matching.
Do this once or twice a week per subject. It takes about fifteen minutes and turns the move from understanding to writing into a habit, rather than a leap on exam day.
If you are not confident in English yourself
You can still help. Your part is the first step: asking your child to explain in Hindi and listening for whether it makes sense. 'Why does that happen?' works in any language. The English writing can be checked against the textbook and the teacher's feedback.
CBSE's sample-paper page for Class X also lists Hindi versions of several papers alongside the English ones. Reading the same question in both languages can help a child connect the Hindi idea to the English wording.
Used this way, two languages stop being an obstacle. They become a strength: one for understanding deeply, and one for showing it in the exam.
Sources
- Ministry of Education, National Education Policy 2020, paragraph 4.11 “Multilingualism and the power of language” (copy hosted by NCERT)
- CBSE, Secondary Curriculum Part 1 (Classes IX–X), 2026–27: §3.1 “Nature of Question Papers”, Medium of Instruction option, pp. 16–17
- CBSE, Secondary Curriculum Part 2 (Classes XI–XII), 2026–27
- CBSE, Class X Sample Question Papers and Marking Schemes 2026–27
- NCERT, Exploration: Textbook of Science for Grade 9, Chapter 6 “How Forces Affect Motion”
See how deeply your child understands.