Language Anxiety and Communicative Confidence Among Marathi Medium Students in Maharashtra: From School to Professional Life

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@article{1717328,
      author = {Gajanan Mule, Nupur Mali, Prof. Prashanth C. K.},
      title = {Language Anxiety and Communicative Confidence Among Marathi Medium Students in Maharashtra: From School to Professional Life},
      journal = {Iconic Research And Engineering Journals},
      year = {2026},
      volume = {9},
      number = {11},
      pages = {122-131},
      issn = {2456-8880},
      url = {https://www.irejournals.com/formatedpaper/1717328.pdf},
      abstract = {Background: Marathi medium students in Maharashtra face a persistent disadvantage in educational and professional settings where English fluency serves as an unspoken prerequisite. Research on language anxiety in this population has mostly focused on school level settings, leaving the experiences of undergraduate, postgraduate, and early career individuals insufficiently explored.
Problem Statement: This study investigates whether language anxiety among Marathi medium students is confined to the school stage or constitutes a structural condition that persists and deepens across the educational and career lifecycle.
Objectives: Two relationships are examined: (1) whether confidence in structured academic settings is related to anxiety in unstructured communicative contexts, and (2) whether perceived linguistic inferiority relative to peers is related to fear of social judgement.
Methodology: A structured twelve item, five point Likert scale was administered to a purposive sample of 40 respondents drawn from Marathi medium school, undergraduate, and postgraduate populations across Maharashtra. Spearman rank order correlation was used for hypothesis testing, and Cronbach’s Alpha was computed for reliability.
Results: Hypothesis 1 was confirmed with a strong positive correlation (rs = 0.799, p < 0.001). Hypothesis 2 was confirmed with a moderate positive correlation (rs = 0.571, p < 0.010). The scale showed excellent internal consistency (α = 0.938).
Conclusion: Language anxiety among Marathi medium students is a structural condition that persists across all educational stages and into professional life. The findings have direct implications for pedagogy, career support, language policy, and employer awareness in Maharashtra.},
      keywords = {Anxiety, Confidence, Marathi, Maharashtra, Bilingualism, Scaffolding, Marginalisation, Habitus, Multilingualism, Postcolonialism, Pedagogy},
      month = {May},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.64388/IREV9I11-1717328}
  }