Engaging Gen Z Learners in the ESL Classroom

These days, you often hear people talk about generations: millennials mocking Gen Z, and vice versa. Gen Alpha is cringing. 

But it’s not just entertainment or name-calling. The real issue is the generation gap that directly affects the education system: millennials are the teachers, and Gen Z are often the students.

The difficulty lies in understanding each other and finding ways to cooperate and collaborate effectively.

To do that, we first need to take a closer look at who Gen Z is and what shapes their mindset in and outside the classroom.

Gen Z is already heavily stereotyped. You might have seen short videos portraying them as unwilling to work hard (from the perspective of others). 

So, when someone ends up teaching these young people, they are influenced by this misconception, which often shapes their mood and teaching methods.

However, for some reason, Zoomers being different is often labeled as ‘lazy.’ Let me repeat this: education is not set in stone. It must change, adapt, and stay flexible to keep up with constant shifts. 

The world is chaotic — we need to catch that vibe (some Zoomer vocabulary for the right setting).

Point 1: Anxiety levels

They often say they’re ‘out of resources’ or something similar. Many people dismiss this as a ‘lame excuse.’ 

I disagree. Gen Z — born between 1997 and 2012 — has been exposed to an overwhelming amount of information and distressing content, plus major world events and pandemics. 

Point 2: Technology moguls

This cohort is the first to grow up with screens. Sometimes they’re called the ‘iPad generation.’ 

Point 3: Personality and attitude

According to recent research by Stanford University, this generation has its own views on the world and education, and they’re willing to share critical feedback and ideas.

Here’s a quick profile:

Point 4: Cognitive development

Recent papers show that since the 1990s, cognitive skill capacity and quality have been declining. Technology, screen time, and less reading have caused major changes. Here are a few key takeaways:

Considering all this, here are some practical ways to adapt and better meet your learners’ needs. We don’t need to reinvent the wheel completely, but small changes can make a big difference.

I’ll break my thoughts down into three areas:

Classroom management

It’s not new to say that learners must feel safe and comfortable. But for Gen Z, it’s essential. They need short breaks to function well and perform better. 

I suggest scheduling short breaks (even for young adults) for breathing exercises, physical activity, or anything else that suits your group. This helps lower stress and recharge their brains. Make it routine so students know what to expect. 

Here are some ideas:

Why-modality

They need to know why they’re learning something and how it applies to real life. You don’t need to create something fancy to impress them. 

Just explain how an activity can help them build a real skill. Simple but effective — and it increases motivation and engagement.

Instructions

This is one of the trickiest areas to plan well. Instructions can easily turn into mini lectures. Good teachers give clear, concise instructions — improvisation doesn’t work here. 

Pre-plan your instructions and a plan B if the first attempt fails. Keep them short and clear. 

Think about demonstrating with students or using visuals or pre-recorded demos — it’s easy to adapt visuals nowadays.

Lesson flow

Focus on MFP (meaning/form/pronunciation) and practice. Depending on level and topic, adapt materials to be clear and manageable. 

From my experience, less is better. When I started teaching, I thought I needed slides, pictures, and bells and whistles. 

But I was wrong — they don’t really need that. They need clear, logically divided explanations and exposure to language in manageable steps.

Grammar: break the topic into small parts

Form + drill + quick practice + feedback. Repeat as needed. It gives them time to digest one thing at a time. 

This works with PPP (presentation-practice-production) and can be adapted for TBL (task-based learning) or TTT (test-teach-test). Keep it simple and precise — even for higher levels.

Vocabulary: visuals are your best friend

Use pictures, photos, emojis, relatable contexts, social media posts, short videos — anything relevant. Of course, you can’t do this every lesson, but when possible, adapt something. It shows you’re flexible and supportive.

Also, don’t forget to pre-plan a good range of CCQs (concept-checking questions).

Skills: keep the text size and time realistic

Textbooks aren’t always suitable for Gen Z, so use information gaps or jigsaw activities. This cuts down on time spent passively reading and increases collaboration, which this generation loves. 

Also, teach strategies for using input from other speakers. Show them how these skills are useful outside the classroom.

Practice and assessment

This part builds confident language users — so it matters for you and them. Research shows using technology is essential because Gen Z is ‘glued’ to screens — so don’t fight it, use it! Here are some ideas:

Why is this important?

Teaching new generations is challenging because it demands new skills and creativity. But don’t be afraid — imagine if nobody changed or adapted. Would we ever get better?