Cultivating translanguaging spaces: Young emergent bilingual children’s toy unboxing play

Abstract

This study explores the captivating world of toy unboxing videos as a space for emergent bilingual children to engage in translanguaging practices. Through the lens of translanguaging, which encourages the unrestricted use of full linguistic repertoires, this research examines the experiences of two five-year-old immigrant and emergent bilingual children, who employ linguistic repertoires from both English and Korean, within toy unboxing play. Toy unboxing play is not exclusive to these children alone but extends beyond as a shared phenomenon of new play among children across the globe. This ethnographic case study seeks to understand when and how translanguaging is employed in their toy unboxing play and explores the possibilities it opens for fostering inclusive views on linguistic practices among emergent bilingual children. In our findings, we argue that toy unboxing play can be a way of creating translanguaging space facilitating the deployment of children’s linguistic repertoires and contributing to their meaning-making and learning processes. The translanguaging practices exhibited by the children in their toy unboxing play demonstrate linguistic flexibility across three key domains: (1) playful interaction with toys and self, (2) emotional interaction with families and intimate others, and (3) transcultural interaction with peers and virtual audience. The study contributes valuable insights into the potentialities of translanguaging within the context of children’s play. Translanguaging emerges not only as a linguistic phenomenon but as a holistic approach to communication, reflecting the multifaceted nature of emergent bilingual children’s identities and experiences. The hybridized approach observed in their play underscores the importance of recognizing translanguaging as a way of being and belonging for children and families with transnational and transcultural backgrounds. By shedding light on the intricate interplay between language, culture, and play, this research deepens our understanding of inclusive and liberating translanguaging spaces for emergent bilingual children.

Keywords

Translanguaging translanguaging space emergent bilingual children toy unboxing YouTube play

Introduction

“Hello everyone! … Pshoooo! Look at this! I have never had 이렇게 큰∼ 카봇 (this big∼ Carbot)!” As a mother to a five-year-old emergent bilingual child, Yeojoo, the first author of this article, consistently observes her child’s translanguaging practices during play. Specifically, his involvement in unboxing toys and role-playing as a YouTube toy reviewer vividly illustrates the seamless blend of English, Korean, and other modes of communication. Toy unboxing play is not exclusive to this child alone but extends beyond as a shared phenomenon among children across the globe (Marsh, 2016). With its emergence in the early 2000s, toy unboxing videos have become one of the most-watched genres on YouTube (Garlen and Hembruff, 2021). Toy unboxing videos targeting young children became one-fifth of the top 100 channels on YouTube (Freeman and Dardis, 2022), suggesting these videos are a part of many children’s everyday lives with toys. Unboxing videos show the process of opening and exploring YouTubers’ new materials including children’s toys, which has an impact on children’s play culture. The focus on toy unboxing play in this study illuminates how children’s emerging play genre and cultural linguistic practices intertwine with their digital and material cultures, especially YouTube culture.

Over the past few years, researchers and journalists have explored toy unboxing videos, presenting them as children’s mimetic participation (Nicoll and Nansen, 2018), a space of commercials and consumerism (Freeman and Dardis, 2022), ‘hypnotic’ and ‘addictive’ content for children (Jones, 2019), and even ‘abusive to kids because kids lack judgment and experience’ (Lieber, 2019). Prevailing perspectives on this phenomenon have mainly framed it through the lens of addictive pathologies and illicit behavior, prompting calls for interventions for vulnerable child viewers (Craig and Cunningham, 2017). As the concerns in children’s access to media and digital technology, children’s behaviors of watching toy unboxing videos have been viewed as to be intervened and fixed.

However, critical scholars insist that these perspectives may not adequately capture the nuanced ways in which children perceive and engage with digital and media culture, including toy unboxing videos. As Marsh (2016) shows, child viewers co-construct the play structure in their engagement with toy unboxing videos. Rather than merely seeking to purchase the toys featured in the videos, children are actively participating in multifaceted ways beyond conventional expectations (Dong and Henward, 2021). Additionally, when children play with unboxing and reviewing toys, they create their own space with their linguistic and cultural resources. Toy unboxing play provides a space for children to bring, deploy, and represent their own repertoires. We particularly focus on one of the linguistic features, translanguaging, as a unique language practice that emergent bilingual children employ during the unboxing play. This focus highlights children’s ways of being and belonging (Li and Zhu, 2013) by breaking up, deterritorializing, bringing, placing, presenting, linking, connecting, and reterritorializing within the space.

For children rooted in two or more national, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds, translanguaging is naturally employed as a means of communication. It challenges traditional language boundaries, promoting the fluid use of multiple languages and recognizing minoritized children’s linguistic practices as valuable resources. Translanguaging presents a significant alternative to the conventional pedagogies, monoglossic language ideologies, and monolingual practices that are prevalent in education (Flores and García, 2013). Within English-medium spaces, such as monolingual classrooms, that predominantly adhere to monolingual norms, emergent bilingual children often encounter a lack of opportunities to authentically represent themselves linguistically. Translanguaging encourages the unrestrained deployment of children’s linguistic repertoires, emphasizing the need for safe spaces crucial for bilingual children to fully utilize their language skills (García, 2009, 2020; Wei, 2011). Emergent bilingual children utilizing translanguaging do not need to be ‘fully bilingual,’ but rather, they can be themselves. Furthermore, through the integration of the multimodal nature of languages with translanguaging, translanguaging highlights the potential and vitality of the children’s bodies (Boldt, 2021), which are often marginalized in monolingual and monocultural educational settings. In literacy spaces, particularly, children’s bodies that have linguistically and culturally different backgrounds from the dominant group are often disregarded because they are perceived as not capable enough or literate enough (Yoon, in press). Given a chronic revulsion toward languages of minoritized groups (Hackett et al., 2018), in this view, children’s language practices position them as “not-yet-humans” (Kuby and Rucker, 2020: 37) and they are easily moved to the margins of meaning-making processes. Yet, when what emerges from their bodies and their embodied experiences is focused on, the richness of their contributions to meaning-making becomes evident, revealing their inherent capabilities and literacies. Drawing upon the notion of translanguaging (García, 2009) and the concept of “linguistic third space” (Flores and García, 2013), we focus on the translanguaging spaces that emergent bilingual children created and engaged in during their toy unboxing play. As the children in this study picked up and used two languages they spoke without boundaries and limitations, we understand that they created a linguistic third space by using translanguaging. The physical and emotional space where the children engaged in translanguaging allowed them to present their linguistic identities. Building upon video-recorded ethnographic fieldwork, this study seeks to trace and understand young children’s emerging translanguaging practices with YouTube toy unboxing videos. Through our exploration, we aim to investigate (1) when and how translanguaging is employed in young emergent bilingual children’s toy unboxing video play and (2) what possibilities translanguaging opens for fostering inclusive views on emergent bilingual children’s linguistic practices. This study contributes to ongoing discussions in bilingual education, offering new insights into emergent bilingual children’s language practices that are often overlooked in the educational landscape. Through this approach, we advocate for a more inclusive and equitable approach to early language and literacy education.

Digital and media play and toy unboxing video

The integration of YouTube into the daily lives of many children has led to heightened concerns among parents and researchers regarding children’s passive consumption of its content (Neumann and Herodotou, 2020; Papadammou, 2019). However, recent studies have undertaken a critical examination of the perception of young children as passive recipients of YouTube content (Garlen and Hembruff, 2021; Marsh, 2016), asserting that children’s interaction with YouTube videos can be understood as active social participation and content creation (Duncum, 2011; Ito, 2008). From this perspective, children’s engagement with YouTube content entails not only consumption but also active participation through activities such as viewing, subscribing, and interacting with content by liking it, thus contributing to the creation of additional video content tailored to young audiences. Consequently, children’s video content on YouTube continues to proliferate, exerting significant influence on the platform’s market and children’s cultural landscape. Within this framework, numerous studies argue that young children demonstrate agency, engage in social participation, and contribute to evolving play cultures through their interactions with YouTube (Burgess and Green, 2009).

Furthermore, the involvement of young children in YouTube and digital play highlights their engagement in multimodal literacy practices (Dong, 2019). Many young children derive enjoyment and amusement from YouTube and digital media, employing linguistic interactions with materials and individuals while proficiently navigating, interpreting, adapting, and (re)creating digital play experiences. Recent research emphasizes the multimodal and multiliteracy practices, as well as the transformative dynamics, inherent in children’s play with YouTube (Dong and Henward, 2021; Marsh, 2016). Of particular note is the exploration of emergent bilingual children’s engagement in toy unboxing play, wherein they freely transition between and interact in two languages. Notably, they demonstrate unique translanguaging strategies and discursive practices through interactions with toys, materials, and family members. Thus, we contend that children’s toy unboxing play can be considered a form of new literacy play, evident in both multilingual practices and online and offline environments (Marsh, 2016). We view the translingual and transcultural practices of young emergent bilingual children as novel modes of communication and play skills.

Translanguaging space

To highlight emergent bilingual children’s flexible use of linguistic repertoires in their toy unboxing play, this study focuses on the translanguaging space, where the boundaries of languages, cultures, and nations that the children might experience are blurred and traversed. The increasing globalization and mass migration have led to the emergence of super diverse linguistic environments. In these dynamic contexts, children navigate a rich array of languages and cultural influences, often blending and mixing them in their everyday interactions. Additionally, as the notion of language as a static, singular entity rapidly evolves, there is an increasing need for a nuanced understanding of language and literacy practices.

Translanguaging, a term first coined by Cen Williams (1997), describes the fluid and dynamic ways in which bi/multilingual individuals navigate and communicate across different languages. The notion of translanguaging recognizes that bi/multilingual children’s language practices need to be valued to enhance their learning experiences, rather than considered as deficits to be fixed (Kleyn and García, 2019). Linguistic scholarship has documented bi/multilingual children’s flexible and dynamic use of linguistic repertoires in various contexts, including the home, school, and local community (Infante and Licona, 2018). For emergent bi/multilingual children, translanguaging is not a new term but rather reflects their everyday language practices (García, 2009). Scholars demonstrate that emergent bilingual children show sophisticated consideration of audiences in writing across linguistically and culturally diverse communities (Axelrod and Cole, 2018). Children are aware of social and cultural values and traditions, adopting the discourse in their community. Children negotiate identity positions as they move across and between their communicative resources (Creese and Blackledge, 2015). This implies the flexible use and deployment of repertoires “without regard for watchful adherence to the socially and politically defined boundaries of named languages” (Otheguy et al., 2015: 283). In this perspective, for the children, language is not a barrier but a bridge, connecting them to different cultures and communities. Through translanguaging, emergent bilingual children create a space that reshapes and reconfigures the dominant discourse on their linguistic identities.

Translanguaging space recognizes and embraces fluidity and flexibility, allowing children to draw on their full linguistic repertoire to communicate and learn. In translanguaging spaces, children freely draw and display their linguistic repertoires to communicate, interact, and belong to the community. Translanguaging space is “a space for the act of translanguaging as well as a space created through translanguaging” (Wei, 2011: 1223). In translanguaging spaces, children agentively bring and deploy resources, transforming linguistic power relations and normative discourse. Emergent bilingual children, who have often faced stigma due to their linguistic and cultural differences, actively create their own translanguaging spaces during play. In these spaces, they blend and navigate multiple languages and cultural practices, allowing them to express themselves more fully and comfortably. This process not only empowers them but also helps in preserving their linguistic and cultural identities while engaging in playful interactions.

This study also focuses on multimodality and its relationship to translanguaging as it manifests during children’s toy unboxing play. The scholarly interest in the semiotic, embodied, and sociocultural aspects of linguistic resources extends beyond conventional theories of language and literacy, highlighting diverse methods of meaning- and sense-making by bi/multilingual individuals (New London Group, 1996; Siegel, 2006). The relationship between multimodality and translanguaging has been documented in research exploring the divergent and flexible use of communicative repertoires by bi/multilingual speakers. Studies have examined the deployment of semiotic resources to establish and mobilize social practices during classroom activities (Axelrod et al., 2022), the utilization of spatial repertoires (Canagarajah, 2018), material engagement within translanguaging spaces (Yoon, 2023b), and multimodal pedagogical practices (Schall-Leckrone, 2022). These investigations underscore the potential for flexible use of communicative resources and the transversal relationships between multimodality and translanguaging.

In this space, the children explore and traverse the blurred lines of separate spaces in many ways. In this “third space,” as Bhabha (1994) highlights, binary oppositions are deconstructed and reshaped. While children experience spaces of tension in monolingual and monocultural environments, they exhibit fluidity in drawing on translanguaging in spaces of openness and possibilities of using any repertoires they have (Garrity et al., 2018). The space facilitates “a functional interrelationship of discourses and identities that is necessary” (Flores and García, 2013: 255) for linguistically and culturally minoritized children.

As this study illustrates a genre of children’s play utilizing media culture, we found it helpful to understand the conceptualization of translanguaging space in facilitating play with children’s agency. Translanguaging space is considered a linguistic third space, “an ‘in-between’ place where creative forms of cultural identity are produced” (Yahya and Wood, 2017: 308). By engaging with media culture, children are not only consumers but also active producers of meaning, as they integrate various semiotic resources and linguistic practices. This integration fosters a rich, multimodal environment where children’s voices and choices are at the forefront, allowing them to experiment, innovate, and express themselves freely.

As the concept of translanguaging space emphasizes the importance of recognizing and verifying the diverse linguistic and cultural repertoires that children bring to their play, the exploration of translanguaging space in children’s media-influenced play reveals the intricate ways in which children utilize their linguistic and cultural resources to construct and inhabit spaces that reflect their identities and agency. This approach not only enriches our understanding of children’s play but also provides valuable insights into the broader implications of multimodality and translanguaging in educational and social contexts.

Methodology

Participants and context

This ethnographic case study provides a detailed examination of the language practices of two five-year-old emergent bilingual children, Emma and Teo, who fluently speak both English and Korean. The study focuses on their language use during imaginative play while unboxing toys in videos they filmed, as part of a larger project exploring the language and literacy experiences of immigrant and emergent bilingual children. Emma and Teo were chosen for this study due to their active engagement with children’s media culture, particularly their enthusiasm for watching toy unboxing videos on YouTube and integrating these videos into their play.

Emma, who lives in Southern California in the U.S. with her Korean parents, moved to the U.S. due to her father’s academic pursuits. Korean is the primary language spoken at home, reflecting her parents’ strong desire for her to maintain proficiency in their native language, although English is also used sporadically. Emma’s connection to her cultural heritage is further reinforced through her participation in community events and her attendance at a Korean church. Her interest in digital media is evident in her enjoyment of watching toy unboxing and reviewing videos on YouTube. Emma extends this interest by pretending to be a YouTuber, creating videos where she unboxes and reviews toys. To film her videos, Emma uses her parents’ smartphone cameras, allowing her to capture moments in various locations such as home, church, and restaurants. This flexibility enables her to engage in toy unboxing play anytime and anywhere, as long as she has a camera and toys to play with. Emma often delays opening new toys or gifts so that she can include them in her unboxing videos. Her YouTube video consumption mainly focuses on English-language content, particularly children’s animations like ‘My Little Pony’ and ‘Superwings’, as well as toy review channels. Despite this, she also enjoys watching Korean toy review videos. During the filming of her videos, Emma’s family members naturally become involved. While they don’t actively participate unless specifically asked by Emma, they readily join in when invited, appearing in the videos to play with the toys or assisting with reviewing them.

Teo, who lives in Northern California, is a five-year-old born and raised in the U.S. to Korean immigrant parents. Korean is predominantly spoken at home, and he was primarily exposed to Korean at a Korean heritage child care center until the age of four. His transition to an English-medium school introduced him to a new language and cultural environment, which he has adapted to over time. He initially faced challenges with the language and cultural differences at school, but he has since become accustomed to communicating in English. Similar to Emma, Teo enjoys watching YouTube videos, including toy unboxing and toy reviews, such as ‘베리의 헬로토이 (Berry’s Hellotoy)’ and ‘제이제이튜브 (JJ Tube),’ as well as children’s songs and animation series like ‘Hello Carbot,’ ‘Wild Kratts,’ and ‘Numberblocks.’ He watches YouTube videos in both English and Korean, adapting his viewing based on the original language of the content. For instance, if a series like ‘Wild Kratts’ is originally in English, he watches it in English without subtitles or dubbing. Conversely, if a series is originally in Korean, like ‘Hello Carbot,’ he watches it in Korean. Teo watches YouTube videos at various times and locations without specific rules, accessing his parents’ electronic devices to do so. His parents provide him with access to YouTube, and he independently searches for keywords or channel titles to find videos of interest. Teo also enjoys filming his own toy unboxing videos. While filming, he sometimes seeks assistance from his parents to open boxes, assemble toys, or read instructions.

Data collection and analysis

This study employed participant observation and informal interviews conducted at participants’ homes or familiar places such as Korean churches. We observed and analyzed their unboxing play after scheduling appointments with young children and their parents. Occasionally, participants recorded and submitted videos of their unboxing play when acquiring a new toy and gift. Throughout our involvement, we assumed the role of “participant as observer” (Gold, 1958) to comprehend their natural and self-directed translanguaging practices during unboxing play. Additionally, we conducted informal interviews with young children and their parents to gain deeper insights into the play and language contexts. These interviews, conducted while viewing their recorded videos, were carried out a total of five times at their homes, where research participants felt comfortable discussing matters. The informal interviews with young children and their parents deepened our understanding and analysis of their family cultures and unboxing play-specific contexts.

We collected 20 video clips, alongside researchers’ fieldnotes and memos, documenting their toy unboxing activities in various settings. The data were meticulously managed on Google Drive, accessible only to researchers with a password. Before using the data, we obtained consent for data usage from both the young children and parents for research purposes and refrained from using any data if they expressed unwillingness.

We drew upon discursive ethnographic microanalysis of interaction (Erickson, 1992), which is a detailed and fine-grained approach to understanding social and emotional interactions within specific cultural contexts and situations. We analyzed the data (e.g., photos, recorded videos, field notes, and memos) to elucidate the dynamics and complexities of translanguaging observed within toy unboxing plays. Through meticulous examination of translanguaging practices and verbal and nonverbal interactions, we aim to uncover the hidden and diverse communication and linguistic strategies employed during their play. By delving into these micro-level linguistic and nonlinguistic interactions including facial expression, gesture, posture, and body movement (Herrle, 2020; Marcucci and Elmesky, 2023), we examined and derived insights into their complex translanguaging practices within the context of their playful, social, and emotional interactions during dynamic unboxing play.

Findings

The findings presented herein illuminate the adept use of translanguaging by Emma and Teo within the context of their playful, emotional, and transcultural interactions while they were creating toy unboxing videos. These interactions, marked by the resolution of unforeseen challenges, the process of deciphering the mechanisms of new toys, and the expression of their excitement during unboxing scenarios, underscore the dynamic nature of their linguistic engagement. The ensuing sections detail the diverse ways in which these two children navigate their play environments through the flexible and nuanced deployment of translanguaging and other linguistic repertoires, highlighting the intricate interplay between language and play.

Playful interaction with toys and self

When Teo, a five-year-old emergent bilingual child, received a new spinning top, Beyblade, which is a toy he was really into, he wanted to film his unboxing video while he played with the toy. During the data collection period, Teo exhibited a strong preference for watching toy unboxing videos on YouTube. Upon receiving a new toy, he requested his mother’s phone, navigated to the YouTube app, and searched for tutorials and unboxing videos related to the toy. Teo’s selection of language for YouTube videos was influenced by the country of origin or advertisement of the toys. Given that the spinning top was sourced from Target, a retail store in the United States, and featured English descriptions, Teo searched for “Beyblade” and viewed relevant videos in English. After watching several videos that unboxed and reviewed the specific Beyblade model he possessed, Teo utilized his mother’s phone to activate the video recording function and proceeded to film his own toy unboxing video.

Teo: Surprise!

He ducks under the table to hide himself, then pops up with a wide smile and shouts (Figure 1

Figure 1.

Teo popping out from the table and using the remark, “Surprise!”

Teo: Is this a blade or a box?

Guess what! I think it’s a surprise. (He looks over the box from all angles.)

열어볼게요! (Let’s open it!)

He widely opens his arms and touches the box with two hands as if overacting the gesture. He is laughing. He tries to open the box with his hands (Figure 2

Figure 2.

Teo opening a box of Beyblade.

). The box parts are torn and fail to open it.

Teo: Wait a minute! (He talks to the screen and then runs off-screen to get scissors).

Teo uses scissors and opens the box successfully. He keeps exploring the toy, pulling it out of the box. He pulls out the body and supplemental parts of Beyblade.

Teo: What! This just popped up! (he was figuring out the things inside the box)

What’s this thing for? (looking at the camera)

How does it really turn it into a blade?

(to his mom who was around) 어떻게 변신해? (How does it transform?)

Yeojoo: 엄마도 잘 모르겠는데. (I don’t really know either.)

Teo: I think it sticks or maybe not. Where’s the instruction?

He tried to transform the spinning top and as an attempt, put a card that was along with the toy to a part of the spinning top.

Yeojoo: 아, 그게 자석이야? (Oh, is that a magnet?)

Teo: I think something has to stick. 아마도. (Maybe)

The instruction in the box along with the toy did not provide specific guidance on transformation and play. Teo made several attempts to make the spinning top work by himself, and he finally found out how it worked.

Teo: 오호! 대박! (Woohoo! Cool!) It looks really good. It’s actually moving the place!

He was stunned by the Beyblade spinning really fast. After 15 minutes of play, he had the concluding remark.

Teo: Was that fun? If it was fun, press ‘Like’ and don’t press two times, cause it’s gonna cancel, Okay? Bye bye.

In the course of our research, we observed a distinctive pattern in children’s toy unboxing play. This form of play, distinct from others, is characterized by the use of specific utterances commonly found in YouTube videos. Utterances such as “Hello, everyone!”, “Look,” “I am going to (open, move, or turn on) this toy,” “Hit the like and subscribe button!”, and “Bye-bye!” are emblematic of the genre and are integrally woven into the children’s play. Additionally, specific bodily movements, such as popping up from outside of the camera angle, moving particular materials closer to the camera, or shaking hands to the camera, represent the genre of play. These verbal and non-verbal languages not only define the play as a form of language play but also highlight the role of language as a catalyst in the play process. The incorporation of these representations into children’s play is not merely a replication of the language used in toy unboxing videos on YouTube; rather, it represents a complex process of transformation, adjustment, and contextualization. While the utterances, movements, and gestures are adopted from unboxing videos Teo has watched, the timing and ways of utilizing these semiotic resources were adapted to the context of his play. Teo’s initial gesture of opening his arms and touching the box was inspired by a toy unboxing channel, ‘베리의 헬로토이 (Berry’s Hellotoy).’ His opening remark, “Surprise!” and the movement of popping up from behind the desk were borrowed from another toy unboxing channel, ‘제이제이튜브 (JJ Tube).’ Additionally, when he encountered a problem with opening the box or transforming the toy, he adjusted his language, using phrases like “Wait a minute!” or “어떻게 변신해? (How does it transform?).” We interpret these verbal and non-verbal expressions as Teo’s textual toys. Dyson (2003) illustrates that children’s textual toys are adopted from the human interaction or media texts they experience, which they then appropriate and adapt to their systems of symbolic meanings and social relations. These textual toys were mixed, adapted, and appropriately used in Teo’s unboxing Beyblade video.

In this play scene, he integrates the specific utterances and bodily movements from toy unboxing videos into his play, drawing resources both from Korean and English, thereby weaving his linguistic repertoires into the fabric of his play activities. He decided to film a video while he unboxed and played with the new toy, and so requested that his mother turn on her cell phone camera. He started filming the video while hiding under the table as the potential audience could not see him in the video. He was giggling while hiding under the table but trying not to make a loud noise out of consideration for the audience. After that, he popped up from the table with the remark “Surprise!” (Figure 1), which made the scene more exciting and exaggerated the entertaining atmosphere. His starting remark, popping-up behavior from the bottom of the table, and adjustment of camera angle represent his sophisticated considerations of the audience. Additionally, verbal remarks such as “press ‘Like’” or “bye-bye,” which are excerpted from multiple toy unboxing videos and bodily movements, can catalyze his play by setting the scene, situation, and atmosphere. As he showed through his smile, giggle, facial expressions, and movements of his body, the configuration of the communicative modes adds excitement and enjoyment to his play experiences.

Teo’s interaction with the toy was not solely physical but also enriched by his linguistic interactions, drawing from his exposure to toy unboxing content through translanguaging practices with both Korean and English. His engagement with these linguistic elements is active, as the phrases are incorporated into his play, enhancing its enjoyment and marking the boundaries of the play episode. While he explored the new toy and tried to figure out how it worked (Figure 2), he freely brought his communicative repertoires, including Korean and English. Additionally, when his bodily movements and gestures were intertwined with his translanguaging, the intersectional engagement created fluid and natural ways of representation (Blackledge and Creese, 2017; Yoon, 2023b). As communicative repertoires were inherently multimodal (Kusters et al., 2017), his multimodal ways of communication and interaction with a toy, camera, and imaginary audiences brought him more enjoyable moments. As he represented his excitement with translanguaging, such as “오호! 대박! (Oho! Cool!)” and “it looks really good!”, it demonstrated “an unbounded, dynamic, and fluid utilization of (his) entire linguistic repertoires through improvised and emergent meaning-making processes” (Yoon, 2023b: 231). It illustrates the intricate interplay between language, identity, and play in the lives of emergent bilingual children.

In this sense, translanguaging demonstrates that toy unboxing play is not mere mimicry or borrowing of content. Instead, children transform the materiality of verbal and non-verbal communicative resources from YouTube videos they watched, including phrases, movements, intonations, and video settings (e.g., camera angles, materials used, and how they are shown), into their play. For example, the movement of ‘popping up from the table’ with a big smile and saying “Surprise!” was explained by Teo as something he borrowed from a YouTube channel he liked and incorporated into his video in “a fun way,” as I learned in a later informal interview after the play. Additionally, his mixed utterances combining his own reactions and narration, such as “오호! 대박! (Oho! Cool!) It looks really good. It’s actually moving the place!” were impromptu and intentionally used at the moment.

In this context, these utterances serve dual functions: they catalyze the play, infusing it with excitement, and delineate its commencement and conclusion, thereby providing structure and a sense of identity within the translanguaging space. Moreover, we note that the configurations of communicative resources become more or less depending on the spaces (Kusters et al., 2017). By incorporating embodied resources in his interaction and play, an unbounded translanguaging space was created. The preferred use of utterances and bodily movements are his overt and covert strategies to open up translanguaging spaces. In this particular space, Teo was able to bring his resources without any restrictions, boundaries, and limitations. While “language has been used as a tool of domination, conquest, and colonization” (García, 2020: 152), in this translanguaging space where Teo brought multimodal language, he was able to overcome the dominant deficit discourse on emergent bilingual and immigrant children. The struggles he experienced during his transition from a Korean heritage school to an English-medium school were closely associated with languages, but in this space, languages, including translanguaging, played a role in bringing him excitement, confidence, and liberation. The translanguaging space allows him to move beyond the language hierarchy (Flores and García, 2013) that exists in the monolingual education as he experienced in the English-medium school.

Emotional interaction with families and intimate others

Emma, a five-year-old emergent bilingual child whose primary language is English and whose home language is Korean, received her gift from her friend’s family, whom she met at a Korean church. The gift was a hand moisturizer designed to resemble a banana, both in appearance and scent. Excitedly, she decided to record a video to introduce her gift to her family, which includes her mother, father, and younger sister. As Emma’s father, Jinchul, and mother, Ji-Eun, predominantly spoke Korean at home and when communicating with their children, Emma used translanguaging—incorporating both Korean and English—while filming her unboxing video. This practice reflects the typical language used within her household.

Jinchul: 뭐야 (What’s this)?

Emma: Sunscreen! (To mom) 어디 한번 해볼까 (Shall we do it)?

Emma applied the cream to the back of her hand.

Jinchul: (to audiences) This is Hannie! (her younger sister) Hello!

Hannie snatched her cream and tried to open it.

Emma: (to Hannie) 열지마! (Don’t open it)

Emma kept on putting the cream on the back of her hand and arm. Then, Emma stretched her arms, putting on the cream toward her father to make him smell her scented arm.

Jinchul: (he smelled a good scent) Ummm∼ (He closed his eyes and savored the scent) “Banana smell?!”

Emma soon stretched her arm toward her mother. Then, her mother smelled it.

Ji-Eun: So Sweet.

Emma: “I like bananas” (to mother) Um Um Um (dancing rhythmically, swaying her hips).

Ji-Eun: “비디오 앞에서 해봐” (Try it in front of the camera)

Emma stretched her hand in front of the camera to let virtual unknown viewers smell her scented hand (Figure 3).

Ji-Eun: 아니(No), Um Ah ah ah ah.

Emma sang and danced, “Um Ah ah ah ah.”

The vignette illustrates Emma’s social and emotional interactions with both her family and an unseen virtual audience through her translanguaging practices during an unboxing activity. Whenever Emma receives new items, such as toys, she attempts to demonstrate them verbally and nonverbally to others. Even in the absence of viewers or an audience, she continues to illustrate the items to herself. On one occasion, upon receiving a new product, a hand moisturizer, she commenced her unboxing play with her family members at home. In the recorded video, Emma’s family predominantly conversed in English, yet seamlessly integrated Korean vocabulary. Interestingly, this translanguaging practice was instrumental in conveying emotions, sharing perspectives, and fostering empathy within the context of unboxing. For instance, discussions often centered on what the new product is, how it works, and their thoughts about it. Through these discussions, they engaged in self-care via their translanguaging practices. Despite its seemingly spontaneous nature, their language-switching was purposeful, serving as a conscious or subconscious means of expression.

Central to Emma’s unboxing experience was the hand moisturizer, which not only facilitated emotional engagement but also enhanced communication dynamics. The moisturizer’s distinct attributes, such as its banana scent and smooth texture, provided shared points of reference for interaction in Korean, fostering a positive atmosphere for exchanging opinions. Emma’s eye contact and expressive gestures, including dancing, underscored the emotional connection within their familial unit, while the act of unboxing itself created a unique space for familial bonding and translinguistic exchange.

Notably, Emma and her family remained cognizant of the recording of their play and communication during the unboxing toy play. This recording situation, characterized as a space of tension (Garrity et al., 2018), afforded them the social and emotional opportunity to articulate their sentiments and thoughts regarding the hand cream. Within this framework, English, Korean, and nonverbal languages, such as smiles, facial expressions, and body movements, were all instrumental in facilitating communication and emotional expression. The unboxing video served as a catalyst for collaborative engagement and emotional empathy among Emma’s family, thereby fostering the development of linguistic third spaces (Flores and García, 2013), which are their own social and emotional dynamic language spaces for interaction.

Transcultural interaction with peers and virtual audiences

In this section, we introduce a vignette of an unboxing play session that Emma engaged in with her friend, Yuna. Yuna, a four-year-old emergent bilingual child, speaks Korean as her primary language. Similar to Emma, Yuna is a Korean American, born and raised in the United States, with Korean as her dominant language and emerging proficiency in English. Emma and Yuna first met at the Korean church that Emma’s family attends. Nearly every Sunday, their families, along with other congregants, gather after the service. In this vignette, Emma and Yuna, accompanied by their parents and friends, engaged in conversation and leisurely strolled around the exterior tables following the Sunday service. Given the Christmas season, Emma received several presents from her friends and other families. Emma and Yuna eagerly unwrap presents from their friends’ parents for Christmas, with Emma deciding to film their excitement during the unboxing process (Figure 4). As the unboxing unfolds, Emma initiates the play by using Korean. They are surrounded by six adults and three children also conversing in Korean at a Korean church that Emma’s family attended. Emma and Yuna put the presents, including 50 colors of crayons and a Barbie doll, on the table and set up Emma’s mother Ji-Eun’s phone with a camera behind the presents. Emma skillfully adjusted the camera’s angle to encompass both herself, her friend Yuna, and the presents. Concurrently, as the children prepared for filming and throughout the filming process, Ji-Eun and other attending parents spontaneously offered commentary on their actions and posed inquiries regarding the nature of their gifts and the filming process.

Emma: 뒤로 와, 뒤로 와! 유나야. 여기 뒤에 숨어. (Come back, come back! Yuna, hide here behind.)

Emma puts a big paper bag in front of the camera.

Yuna: 까꿍! (Peekaboo!)

They pull the present out from the paper bag. Ji-Eun walked over behind the table where Emma and Yuna were positioned.

Yuna: 내가 도와줄게. 이거 예쁘다. (I’ll help. This is pretty.)

Ji-Eun: 왜 인사 안 해? Hi guys. It’s Toys’r Us! 같은 거 하잖아. (Why don’t you greet? Like, “Hi guys. It’s Toys’R Us!”)

Emma: 한국어로 할거야. (I’ll do it in Korean.)

Ji-Eun: 한국어로 할거야 오늘은? 이야∼ (You’re going to do it in Korean today? Wow∼)

Emma: 그래서…안녕하세요! (So… Hello!)

She waves her hand to the camera. She opens a box with a Barbie doll. Her big smile shows her excitement.

Emma: 이거 Barbie 랑 있고 crayon이 있어요. (There’s Barbie and crayons.)

Emma: 열어보세요. (Open it.)

Emma unties the ribbon and unwraps the plastic bag.

Emma: 이야∼ Barbie도 있고 (Wow∼ There is Barbie)

Yuna: 이야∼ (Wow∼)

Emma: 요건 이렇게 생겼고, 귀걸이도 있어요. 그리고, 신발도 벗으기도 한가봐요. 그리고 되게 예쁘게 생기고 있어요. 이야∼ 되게 많이 있다. (Wow∼ It looks like this. There are earrings, too. And, it seems like the shoes come off. And, she's made so pretty. Wow∼ There's a lot.)

Emma and Yuna explore the Barbie doll. They introduce its appearances, including outfits, hairstyles, and accessories. Emma now opens a multi-colored crayon set.

Emma: 요것도 꺼내보세요. 오호! 여기는 brown 있고 여기도 brown 있고. 쭉쭉쭉. (Let’s open this one. Wow! Here’s brown, and here’s brown too. On and on).

After a quick check with the crayons, Emma wraps up the Barbie and crayons in the plastic bag. She looks at the camera to give a closing remark.

Emma: 되게 quickly… um… 끝났지요? 그래서, 잘가요∼ bye bye. (Very quicky… um… was it ended? So, goodbye∼ bye bye).

As English is Emma’s preferred language choice, and she has emerging proficiency in Korean, she usually spoke English in other toy unboxing videos she filmed. However, when she was in the Korean church, with friends and their families who spoke Korean as their primary language, she spoke Korean more than English. Additionally, when Emma and Yuna wanted to make their toy unboxing video together, Emma decided to use Korean to film their video. During filming, while Yuna was not participating verbally as Emma was, she took Emma’s guidance in acting and positioning and followed her utterances. Emma recognized and adopted Yuna’s language preference and proficiency in her language choice and her interaction with Yuna. While Emma’s Korean is not as fluent as the other native Korean speakers surrounding her, Emma contended as she would use Korean in filming at that time. Emma identified, adopted, and negotiated the language and cultural context in filming unboxing videos. As languages are developed and constructed in a social and cultural context, the careful and nuanced choices in language that Emma made reflect her social and cultural understanding and metalinguistic awareness (Cenoz and Gorter, 2020). Her understanding of the social and cultural context was evident in her language choices, which varied according to the situation. In the Korean church, she was surrounded by individuals with varying levels of Korean proficiency. Additionally, she intended to film her unboxing video with Yuna, who predominantly spoke Korean. Her metalinguistic awareness, and her knowledge of the different syntactic features of Korean and English, additionally, allowed her to bring her translanguaging into the space they created.

Figure 3.

Emma stretching her arm to smell her scented hand.

Figure 4.

Emma (right) and Yuna (left) filming their toy unboxing video in an outdoor space of a Korean church.

Within the space, translanguaging emerged in natural and flexible ways. Translanguaging, as García and Kleifgen (2020) describe, focuses on “the unbounded dynamic and fluid use of multilinguals’ entire linguistic repertoire,” going beyond traditional understandings of language. Song (2016) points out that due to the global-local nexus that immigrant families face and their mixed practice of maintaining heritage languages while developing new ones, emergent bilingual children from immigrant families develop language in a new and hybrid way in their interactions. In the vignette, Emma transcended the boundaries of two languages consciously and unconsciously. The hybrid emergence of translanguaging was not randomly mixed or deployed at those moments. Rather, it represents her keen understanding of language use and awareness of cultural preferences. In interactional relationships, she transformed and reorganized the languages and discourses from different social and cultural contexts.

Additionally, her use of semiotic repertoires during toy reviews exemplifies the complexity and hybridity inherent in new transcultural practices that transcend cultural origins. Here, ‘cultural origins’ encompass not only heritage cultures or local and national boundaries but also cultural forms that extend beyond physical and geographical limitations, including online and offline realms. Emma brought her linguistic repertoire from the Korean language and her cultural repertoire not only from interactional relationships but also from unboxing videos. Emma’s play begins with an introductory style commonly found in toy unboxing videos, highlighting transcultural dialogue involving English and Korean, and the blending of cultural conventions. Unlike her other unboxing videos, she started this one with a Korean introduction. Drawing on Pennycook’s (2017) concept of transcultural flows, which represents the movements, changes, and reuses of cultural forms in a different context, Emma’s play demonstrates processes of borrowing, blending, remaking, and returning, contributing to alternative cultural production. She adeptly integrated her linguistic resources in Korean and her knowledge of Korean culture into the familiar form of play—filming an unboxing video. Additionally, she seamlessly incorporated elements of children’s online media culture, such as unboxing videos on YouTube, into her offline play. This interaction among named cultures or languages, the cultural context of engagement, and media culture, particularly in the context of toy unboxing videos, showcases transcultural interactions in action.

Transcultural translanguaging practices are evident in Emma’s play, as she navigates diverse cultural and linguistic repertoires to create meanings. Her play demonstrates an awareness of cultural and linguistic hybridity, reflecting her engagement with both local and global cultural phenomena. Her interaction with her mother, Ji-Eun, involves setting the stage and camera angles before commencing play, mirroring her usual toy review format. This highlights her proficiency in navigating transcultural and translanguaging practices, showcasing her adeptness at blending cultural and linguistic boundaries in her play and interactions.

Furthermore, we note that transcultural interaction in children’s translanguaging practices helps them develop a transnational identity. This identity can be developed by providing a liberating conception of having the capability to de- and re-territorialize their repertoires and mobilize them to create a new space for themselves (Li and Zhu, 2013). When Emma chose Korean involving translanguaging in her play when she brought the toys into the camera, it presented a vivid example of how transcultural interactions can shape identity and create new cultural spaces. Through their transcultural interactions, Emma and Yuna are not only engaging with toys but also constructing a transnational identity that transcends traditional language and cultural hierarchies (Flores and García, 2013). The process of transcultural interaction and identity formation is dynamic and ongoing, highlighting the complexity and richness of children’s play in today’s globalized world.

Toy unboxing play as a linguistic third space

This study investigates the dynamic translanguaging practices of young immigrant children through their engagement with toy unboxing videos, focusing on playful, emotional, and transcultural interactions and communication. We emphasize the transformative role of translanguaging in shaping the play experiences of emergent bilingual children with their everyday culture, particularly YouTube and play culture.

Young children’s engagement with toy unboxing videos reveals that they do not merely replicate what they observe in the videos; rather, they actively transform and adapt the content, selectively incorporating elements that captivate them. The strategic use of language, particularly utterances denoting the commencement and conclusion of an activity, serves as a tool for children to navigate and structure their play. Additionally, bodily movements the children employed, including popping up from the table, disappearing out of the screen, and shaking hands, provide excitement and “productive and affective meaning-making” (Yoon, 2023a: 196). This adaptive use of verbal and non-verbal languages underscores the linguistic agency and subjectivity of children in shaping their play experiences, rendering it a fertile ground for translanguaging practices.

In this study, Emma and Teo adeptly employ translanguaging as a strategy to navigate the complexities of toy unboxing scenarios, addressing unexpected challenges, and expressing excitement and curiosity about new toys and materials. For those children, the unboxing play transcends mere language practices, extending beyond online and offline contexts and encompassing their bilingual practices. This also shows that their translanguaging practices occurred spontaneously while consciously or subconsciously facilitating multiple forms of communication and play in their everyday life, which reveals young children’s play culture.

Interestingly, the versatility of their play spaces for unboxing videos exemplifies the fluidity of translanguaging practices. Whether at home, in a church, or in a restaurant, any setting can morph into a playground through the lens of a child’s imagination and exploration. The presence of a filming device, along with the narrative frameworks provided by parents, such as language cues signaling the start and end of a play session, enriches the play experience. This flexibility and socioemotional interaction in defining play spaces enable children to construct their own multi-linguistic spaces for unboxing play, where the fusion of languages, socioemotional skills, and online and offline cultures occurs seamlessly, facilitating translanguaging and transculturation. In this sense, unboxing play furnishes contemporary young children with a third play space to interact with their digital and analog environments, various cultures, and individuals they encounter.

By focusing on bilingual children’s active and dynamic translanguaging play, this study provides valuable insights into how children’s toy unboxing play can be a translingual and transcultural approach tailored specifically for emergent bilingual children. The hybridized approach exhibited by these children, encompassing seamless integration of languages, modes of communication, and play structures, serves as a lens through which the plural nature of their linguistic and cultural experiences becomes apparent in toy unboxing play. As translanguaging embodies a holistic and integrated approach to communication, it reflects the dynamic and multifaceted nature of their identity and experiences. In this sense, shedding light on children’s linguistic, social, and cultural experiences in particular play settings underscores the importance of recognizing translanguaging as a way of being and belonging (Li and Zhu, 2013). This is particularly important for children and families with transnational and transcultural backgrounds.

Moving beyond monoglossic and deficit understanding of young children and their capability of consuming digital media, this study advocates for the agency of young children, which highlights how children are capable of weaving repertoires and employing them in nuanced ways in everyday practices. Through a deeper understanding of the lived realities of these children, the intricate interplay between language, culture, and play within the context of toy unboxing videos is illuminated. The perspective offers an inclusive and liberating approach to emergent bilingual children’s translanguaging, learning, and play.

Footnotes

Declaration of conflicting interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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