A study investigated the English language acquisition of three native Spanish-speaking children in a bilingual preschool, focusing on the spontaneous use of English when play-acting at being superhero figures from popular children's culture. The occurrence of this voice is contrasted with the children's use of Spanish for other types of play and for "asides" (stage directions) during the play-acting episodes. The power of this play to promote English is suggested by the children's comments. Factors in the home, school, and larger social context that appeared to promote the dichotomization of the children's voices into English speaking "self" and Spanish-speaking "other" are discussed, and implications for second language acquisition and bilingual development are considered. A 23-item bibliography is included. (MSE)