Background: Mother-tongue education in South African primary schools remains a challenge to policymakers. The situation is problematic in multilingual "lok'shin" (township) schools where the "lok'shin" lingua is not recognised as 'standard' language. This article raises the controversial possibility of positioning of "lok'shin" lingua in a formal education landscape. Objectives: The article's first purpose is to highlight recent international and local research which depicts controversies surrounding mother tongue instruction in primary schools. The second purpose is to conceptualise "lok'shin" lingua as a dialect present in children's everyday vocabulary. Method: Data was gathered through a qualitative approach using interviews. The interviews were conducted with parents and educators at a township in South Africa. Results: Findings show notable differences in school language of instruction and the languages children speak outside school. Conclusion: Mother tongue teaching is problematic as it is incongruent with learners' language repertoires. Therefore, a call is made for the recognition of "lok'shin" lingua in educational contexts as a way to promote more research into mother-tongue education.