‘I’m Maitha! You’re Abdalla, okay?’: role play as a site of agency, cognitive, and multilingual development

Fatma F.S. Said, Zayed University

Document Type

Article

Source of Publication

International Journal of Play

Publication Date

8-6-2025

Abstract

This linguistic ethnographic study examines how two young multilingual Arabic-English speaking children aged 8 and 9 in the UAE manifest their emerging multilingualism during play. The study explores how children use language during role play in ways that reflect their linguistic and agentic development. Drawing on language socialisation, sociocultural, and developmental psychology frameworks, data were collected through audio and video recordings of spontaneous play sessions at home, observations, surveys, and parental interviews. Findings reveal that children creatively use language to assume impersonated roles and construct imagined characters, aligning specific languages or dialects, thus reflecting their understanding of social norms and cultural expectations. Underlining their emerging metalinguistic and metacommunicative understanding, they manipulate linguistic resources to negotiate power and authority with peers and caregivers alike. Multilingual children demonstrate an ability to use language symbolically and strategically to direct play, assert control, negotiate meaning, and harness their agency while developing self-regulation. The findings underscore the inseparable role of language in children’s social and cognitive development, highlighting role play as a critical arena for young multilinguals to develop their linguistic identities and agency. The study challenges deficit-oriented views of multilingualism, positioning it as a valuable resource for children’s development.

ISSN

2159-4953

Publisher

Informa UK Limited

Disciplines

Education | Linguistics

Keywords

Arabic, child agency, family language policy, Multilingualism, role play, self-regulation

Scopus ID

105012595388

Indexed in Scopus

yes

Open Access

no

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