A teacher in Japan used a horror game to teach his students the English language during spooky season.
A teacher in Japan decided to teach his students the English language in a very uncommon way. About a week ago, she appeared in class with learning material nobody saw coming.
With Halloween being just around the corner, she used Hideo Kojima’s P.T., a horror game, which name is just a short version of "Playable Teaser". A demo of the project was published back in 2014 but was cancelled later due to a dispute between Kojima and Konami.
For anyone still waiting for a full version of the game, should check out Hideo Kojima’s upcoming OD – Knock.
So, the question is, how could you possibly use a horror game for an English lesson? The answer is simple: you play it.
One Scary Classroom Lesson
The lesson took place entirely in English at Niigata Prefectural Tsunan Secondary School. With her unique teaching method, the teacher used the horror game to show the students simple English conversation.
The game P.T. was chosen because of the simple instructions in the game with phrases that are often used in everyday life, such as "answering the phone" and "walking around the room."
Surprisingly, the class was held for some 5th graders.
What is not surprising, however, is that the students flinched noticeably at scary moment, for example when the phone rang inside the game.
There were some good jump scares they had to endure, but according to the school’s website, „the students realized the fun of using English in an atmosphere that was a mixture of tension and fun.“
P.T., GTA 5… What’s Next?
It is not the first time a teacher uses a video game as foundation for his lessons, though.
American historian and history professor Tore Olsson used the popular open-world game Grand Theft Auto 5 to teach students about American history.
The class is called "Grand Theft America: U.S. History Since 1980 through the GTA Video Games" and will start in January 2026 at the University of Tennessee.
What could be the next game for an unusual learning approach? Let us know your ideas in the comments!