James York, an English teacher and PhD student researching language learning in virtual worlds, is teaching Japanese online by using Minecraft. The class, which he calls Kotoba Miners, takes place on a dedicated Minecraft server which contains several structures built for different learning activities. Different buildings off of “University Road” contain different exercises that encourage students to read and and speak Japanese together. For example, in the “Ice Palace,” players must communicate in order navigate a series of pressure plates correctly. If they take a wrong step a trap will activate and kill the player.