ABSTRACT
There is nowadays probably a general consensus in educational thinking that education should be child-centred, in the sense that learning is most effective if it is based on the child's own experiences. Teaching has to start from where the child is, because there is, logically, nowhere else to start. The well-known statement by Unesco (1953, p. 11) is widely accepted by educationalists:
It is axiomatic that the best medium for teaching a child is his mother tongue. Psychologically, it is the system of meaningful signs that in his mind works automatically for expression and understanding. Sociologically, it is a means of identification among the members of the community to which he belongs. Educationally, he learns more quickly through it than through an unfamiliar linguistic medium.
