Following the global trend in primary English language instruction, the Ministry of Education in Mexico has recently included English as an additional language as part of the national curriculum for primary grades. Some have questioned whether early EFL programmes can work, given the few instructional hours per week and limited exposure to the target language in non-English speaking environments. However, this article reveals that children in EFL settings often use English more than is commonly thought, and in surprising ways. It examines the types of engagements that primary school students in Mexico have with English when the teacher is not around. These engagements, especially through music, movies, and video games, illustrate the creative ways children draw on their emerging linguistic resources and employ a variety of tools to accomplish a range of communicative functions in English. The results of the study outlined in this article suggest that they can be sources from which teachers can draw pedagogical inspiration.