When you think of video games as a tool to teach kids English, horror probably isn't a genre that immediately springs to mind. You might think of something a bit more narrative-heavy, or perhaps any sort of puzzle game to drill in simple tasks. But no, a fifth grade English class in Niigata prefecture has used the demo of P.T. as a language learning tool, and it actually makes perfect sense as to why.
Not only is the short teaser enough content for a one-off lesson, but the instructions are simple enough and phrases you would often hear in conversation, such as "answering the phone" and "walking around the room" which students of the class used to direct the character around the game according to a post shared to the official Niigata Prefectural Tsunan Secondary School blog.
The lesson was conducted entirely in English by an ALT, and the students were challenged to progress through the story by choosing what to make the player do next, whether that was going into a certain room or interacting with certain objects. P.T. is by no means a particularly detailed demo either, with a lot of items being simple things like the phone or doors.
The same blog post also shared that a few students were "surprised by the sudden sound of a phone ringing", which is a sweet detail. After all, when you're so locked in trying to make your way through the game, it's easy to forget that you are, in fact, playing a horror game and there are bound to be a few jumpscares.
Since English language learning textbooks and materials used in schools rarely simulate natural conversation in favour of a more formal use of language, using a video game is actually a very clever way to teach simple, casual phrases.
Plus, there's no better feeling than a TV getting wheeled out during a lesson, and you just know the Assistant Language Teacher hosting the lesson earned extra cool points for letting the class play a video game. I'll admit, though, if I had been asked to play P.T. while in school, I probably would've sat at the back and hidden behind my bookbag, so I appreciate the eagerness of all the students wanting to get stuck in.
