Language: Koya b) Based in the culture and environment Children learn best when starting with the familiar and moving to the unfamiliar; concepts need to be based in their immediate environment and within their experience. The concepts are general; the context is different. Children learn what is important in the community; they learn the values and knowledge important to the community. The culture is contained in the language and so indigenous knowledge is best learned through indigenous language. c) A strong foundation in the mother tongue A strong foundation in MT is a good predictor of successful second language learning; providing a good L1 foundation will support the learning of the second language. Learning language and learning about language encourages a child’s metalinguistic conceptual understanding giving a basis on which to build other languages. d) Build a good bridge: second language acquisition A good bridging process requires the gradual growth of the second language first through increasing the oral ability in the new language, moving on to written forms and then gaining fluency in all literacy skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing). Cummins (1979) suggests that while it only takes about 2 years to develop basic communication skills, it takes between 5 and 7 years to acquire sufficient competency in the second language to use it for academic purposes. Children need to acquire this competency before using as the second language as the medium of instruction. In other words, they need to learn the new language before learning in the new language. UNESCO recommends that the second language should be introduced “as a subject of instruction” the amount of which “should be increased gradually” and which should not become the medium of instruction “until the pupils are sufficiently familiar with it”. The mother tongue should not be replaced by the second language. Other languages should be added so that all languages are used as a resource for learning (Agnihotri 2007). MLE programmes should be additive rather than subtractive; and multilingual using both/all languages rather than submersion, assimilation model. A possible progression of language skills and concept development can be seen in figure 1. 5.2 Firm foundations = stability and strength Emotional stability and sense of security are essential foundations for learning. Developing self esteem, a sense of personal worth and value, cultural identity and ensuring a place in the community will reduce alienation and the results thereof. Alienation results in social dysfunction and political instability.