Generation Z – Six main Characteristics

We are living in the world, that changes fast. And new generation “Z” is much more different from generation “Y” than generation “X” and generation of “Baby Boomers”. Maybe, it’s because of a world, changing much faster than ever before or because of changing relationships between parents and children, maybe because of technology. Anyway a new Generation Z has come. Meet them and get ready to them

Cynical.

While the Generation Z students are fairly happy and well-adjusted, they are not giddy like so many of Generation Y kids were in the 90s. They tend to be more realistic not idealistic, seemingly jaded from the tough economy, terrorism and complexities of life.

Private.

Perhaps it’s because they watched their older siblings get in trouble from posting controversial content on social media, but younger teens don’t want to be tracked. Apps like Snapchat and Whisper have seen explosive growth in the last few years. In contrast, Facebook has lost 25 percent of this demographic since 2011.

Entrepreneurial.

Like Millennials, these students plan to be pioneers, not merely settlers in a career. 72% of current high school students want to start a business. They feel like hackers, not slackers, they know life is hard and requires work.

Multi-tasking.

Generation Z kids are taking multi-tasking to a new level. They prefer to be on 5 screens at once, and you should be ready to get only a part of their attention, they won’t concentrate it all on you.

Hyper-aware.

Generation Z has communicated enough with marketing researchers and academics to reveal the experience of 4D Thinking. Their minds are streaming in a number of directions. They’ve become post-moderns who are hyper aware of their surroundings.

Technology-reliant.

While Generation “Y” were “addicted” to technology (E.G: in minds of our parents), teens of Gen “Z” put technology in the same category as air and water. They cannot imagine living without being connected all the time.

Thanks, Tim Elmore, whose article became a basis for this post.

601 – Please, express your opinion about Gen Z and what do You believe to be the main difference between “Z” and “Y” Generations.

Looking through the CORE DIMENSIONS of FLT expertise and Practice

There’re 9 dimensions of teacher knowledge and skill:

• Language proficiency factor.

As it’s noticed the most FL teachers are not native speakers, but it doesn’t really matter. The thing, making teacher a good one is his ability to provide good language models and maintaining target language in a classroom, giving good and correct explanations in the target language

• Speaking the role of a content knowledge,

all of us may notice, that it refers to what teachers need to know about what they teach.

However, here we should distinguish disciplinary knowledge (phonology, grammar, etc.) and pedagogical content knowledge (a basis for language teaching, such as classroom management, teaching “4 skills”)

• Teaching Skills

A teacher has to have a repertoire of techniques and routines that include a complete plan of a lesson.

• Learner-focused teaching

Teaching is a kind of performance. It must be oriented in a student. Effective teachers develop a sense of community among their students using group-based activities and student’s life experience.

• Pedagogical reasoning skills

It’s a specialized kind of thinking that teachers possess to make use of in planning and conducting their lessons.

• Theorizing of practice

A developing of personal beliefs and knowledge, putting them in order to get a better result.

• Developing principles and a teaching philosophy

According to Bailey, it’s a further stage in theorizing from practice, when teachers formulate principles that they refer to when planning and evaluating their teaching and to the personal philosophy which guides their decision making

• Membership of a community of practice

Maybe the most important thing. ‘Cause every teacher needs to have some collaboration with other teachers for sharing and developing his own principles and methods.

• Professionalism

Teaching is not just a thing that can be done by any person, who knows language. It’s a way of living and an agree to make career and develop yourself within your profession from day to day from task to task you give and complete.

Please, comment on the article and ask your questions.