All boys. All boarding. Grades 9-12.
About
School News
Spanish Class Makes Fortnite Part of Lesson Plan
When students in Andrew Handelsman’s Spanish IV class logged into Fortnite two days before winter break, they weren’t just playing for fun. They were practicing Spanish.
In an unconventional classroom exercise, students set their game language to Spanish and were required to communicate exclusively in the language while playing the wildly popular battle royale game. The goal? To reinforce their ability to speak Spanish spontaneously in high-pressure situations — while also tapping into their enthusiasm for a cultural phenomenon.
"When it was announced that OG Fortnite was coming back, there was a lot of excitement," Handelsman said, referring to the revival of the game’s original mode in December 2024. "I wanted to harness that excitement in a way that would also be educational."
For many students, the immersive experience proved to be more than just a game.
"It helped me practice a ton of new verb tenses I’ve been working on," said Charlie Gillespie ’26. "I also learned some Fortnite-specific vocabulary, which was fun."
Handelsman saw the exercise as an opportunity to bridge the gap between textbook Spanish and real-world communication.
"There’s a difference between classroom Spanish and the Spanish people actually speak," he said. "I wanted the students to experience the language in a setting that felt natural to them."
The class was studying commands at the time — an aspect of Spanish that found a natural fit within the fast-paced world of Fortnite, where players must constantly direct teammates and strategize under pressure.
"We happen to be working on commands, and there are a lot of commands in Fortnite," Handelsman explained. "It made sense that if they learned the right verbs and structures, they could practice them in real time."
Despite being a first-time experiment, Handelsman deemed the session a success.
"For a first run, it went really well," he said.
>> Reporting by Jack Jensen ’26
>> Reporting by Jack Jensen ’26
Woodberry Forest School is an exceptional private school community for high school boys in grades nine through twelve. It is one of the top boarding schools in the United States and one of the only all-boys, all-boarding schools in the country.
Explore & Resources
Woodberry Forest admits students of any race, color, sexual orientation, disability, religious belief, and national or ethnic origin to all of the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sexual orientation, disability, religious belief, or national or ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic or other school-administered programs. The school is authorized under federal law to enroll nonimmigrant students.