According to the national language policy, learners in SA ought to receive instruction in their mother-tongue during the first three years of formal compulsory schooling (Foundation Phase). However, in opposition to well-researched evidence that MT instruction yields better results in terms of cognitive development, in many cases where the policy is implemented and where African languages are used, learner achievement is still not adequate. This can be explained by many factors, including poverty, lack of appropriate material, teachers lacking qualification and motivation, but perhaps there are also issues pertaining to the way MT instruction is conceived and implemented.