Teaching students of these two generations is getting rather challenging. You probably have a feeling of getting stuck in an incomprehensible abyss that gets deeper and deeper, where your students are some strange characters landed from another planet. You are not alone with that sense of confusion and misbelief.
We witness huge social changes, mostly driven by technological development. There are new generations of students that differ significantly from previous ones, and we can’t find any points of reference. Constantly asking ourselves what is happening, we are facing some struggles in dealing with their educational needs.
We notice that we can’t cope easily with their slang. We realize that we need to adjust quickly, but there is no such speed that can be relatively enough to satisfy that adjustment since their slang transforms rapidly—a popular term today could be cringe tomorrow. Moreover, we now deal with two different linguistic worlds. To perceive the differences, we need to be aware of what distinctions among these two generations we are handling.
Key Differences in Slang Usage
🗣️1 Platform Influence
- Gen Z Slang: Influenced heavily by Vine, Tumblr, early YouTube, and TikTok (early years).
- Examples: “Yeet”, “No cap”, “Bet”, “Vibe check”
- Gen Alpha Slang: Shaped more by TikTok (post-2020), YouTube Shorts, Roblox, Minecraft, Discord, and Fortnite culture.
- Examples: “Rizz”, “NPC”, “Sigma”, “Skibidi”, “Gyatt”
😂2 Humor and Memes
- Gen Z leans into irony, self-deprecation, and absurdist humor.
- “I’m literally shaking,” “This ain’t it,” “I can’t even.”
- Gen Alpha prefers hyper-surreal, fast-paced, and often nonsensical memes (e.g., Skibidi Toilet, Ohio memes).
- “Skibidi,” “Skull emoji 💀” (used for everything), “Bro is an NPC”
🗣️3 Tone and Usage
- Gen Z often uses slang ironically or meta-aware (e.g., saying “slay” jokingly in many contexts).
- Gen Alpha tends to use slang unironically or mimic phrases from creators and games directly.
💬4 Communication Style
- Gen Z: Text-based slang, emojis used sparingly or ironically.
- “✨That’s a choice✨” — mock emphasis
- Gen Alpha: Influenced by streamers and gameplay — sound effects, exaggerated expressions, and emojis (😭, 💀, 🔥) dominate.
Slang: Gen Z vs. Gen Alpha Overview
Here’s a short overview of some differences/similarities in the usage of slang:
There are two issues to acknowledge: a) we are teaching completely new generations of students that we need to significantly and regularly upgrade our knowledge and techniques to teach them successfully; b) we usually mistake them as similar or even equal, what is not true.
Their behavioral, linguistic, and cultural touchpoints are different.
Before we start analyzing the process of adjusting ourselves and our teaching methods to them, remember:
- Gen Z is cause-oriented → connect learning to change.
- Gen Alpha is play-oriented → embed fun and freedom.
- Both value voice, creativity, and tech-savvy formats.
💡 Adapting Teaching to Generation Z and Generation Alpha
It involves more than just digital technology integration. It requires a shift in mindset, tone, and delivery to adequately respond to what these students think, communicate, and learn.
Include the use of visuals. In the next passages, the use of emojis is more responsive to the needs of this discussion.
Let’s start with a clear differentiation breakdown:
1 📚 Rethink Content Delivery
- Short, Modular Lessons: Use microlearning — break lessons into 5–15 min segments. Prepare lessons where learning activity prevails. Keep in mind frontal teaching only as a short and clear “showering” when deeper explanation is needed.
- Use Escape Rooms & Scavenger Hunts: Motivate teamwork in playing mode to achieve educational goals: logical thinking, cross-curricular learning, media literacy, and spatial orientation.
- Design Tasks to Motivate Students’ Creativity: Encourage creation of short YouTube-style tutorials, vlogs, teasers, or explainers. Use tools like Canva or any video editor (i.e., CapCut) for creative expression.
- Use Visuals + Motion: Think slides, GIFs, animations, quick polls, real-time diagrams, short videos. They’re immersed in short-form, visual content. Use TikTok-style reflections (short videos explaining what they learned). Use emojis in activities — but with purpose. Always check the right meaning of certain emojis and the context both generations use it. It’s about their angle of meaning, not ours. They can differ a lot!
- Chunking + Scaffolding: Present small bits of information with clear connections.
2 🎮 Make It Interactive & Gamified
- Use EdTech Tools: Tools like Kahoot, Quizizz, H5P, Blooket, or Minecraft: Education Edition.
- Game Mechanics: Levels, badges, XP, progress bars boost engagement.
3 🗣️ Speak Their Language (without cringing)
- Cultural Relevance: Use memes, TikTok references, YouTubers, or games they follow as metaphors, not gimmicks.
- Ask Them to Teach You: Let them explain slang they use. This validates their identity, opens conversation, and creates mutual respect.
- Avoid Forced Slang: Use their language with care, or better — show understanding by mirroring their humor and tone without imitating.
4 🌍 Create Real-World Relevance
- Connect to Current Issues: Social justice (Gen Z) and environmental sustainability resonate. Connect lessons to real-world issues (e.g., climate change, social justice, tech ethics).
- Project-Based and Task-Based Learning: Use authentic tasks like creating content, solving local problems, or designing products.
- Create tasks to motivate creativity: Encourage creation of short YouTube-style tutorials, vlogs, teasers, or explainers.
5 멘탈 🩺 Support Mental Health & Expression
- Flexible Deadlines & Check-Ins: Recognize emotional well-being — both Gen Z and Alpha value this.
- Digital Journals, Mood Check-Ins: Use tools like Google, Microsoft Forms, or AnswerGarden for reflective practices.
- Safe, Inclusive Classrooms: Normalize discussions about identity, fairness, and emotional awareness.
- Focus on effort over outcomes: (e.g., celebrate persistence, not perfection).
- Create a space where it’s okay to fail and try again: model this yourself.
6 👩🏫 Rethink the Teacher Role
- From Sage on the Stage → Guide on the Side: Facilitate inquiry and co-learning rather than dictate and serve fully prepared knowledge without students’ active involvement. Prepare lessons where learning activity prevails. Keep in mind frontal teaching only as short and clear “showering” when deeper explanation is needed.
- Make lessons collaborative and social: Prepare group projects, peer feedback, or co-teaching roles. Foster collaboration with tools like Padlet or Google Jamboard.
- Digital Mentorship: Coach students in navigating online life ethically and thoughtfully. Mind the importance of cultivating information literacy. Make regular internet search as targeted activities where different reading skills will be practiced: scanning and skimming. Make your students aware of the internet as a vast source of information and teach them to question the sources and relevance of information.
- Media Literacy: Teach critical thinking using YouTube, TikTok, AI-generated content, etc.
In a Nutshell
What is our constant? Active listening! Make this process a mutual learning experience where you ask students what certain slang means rather than assume.
What to embrace rather than judge?
- New cultural awareness. Knowing whether a term is from a game, streamer, or meme helps frame more successful conversations with our students.
- Show respect of play culture. Many Alpha slang terms come from play — Roblox, Fortnite, etc.
We can’t ever forget, no matter how demanding these steps seem, we are teachers who lead the course of teaching and learning. Our students’ growth and well-being are our priorities.
We invite and welcome you at our, Lina Edu courses, where we hugely pay attention to educational changes and trends. We create and design teacher training sessions and courses to enhance teachers’ skills and competencies and help teachers conquer fast-paced social and technological changes issues.
We offer teacher training courses that are relevant and related to teaching Gen Z & Alpha are:
- ✅Video teaching methods – flipped classroom: https://linaedu.eu/erasmus-course-video-teacher/
- ✅Photography and Visuals with AI: https://linaedu.eu/erasmus-course-photography-and-visuals-with-ai/
- ✅Teacher’s Brand in Digital Age: AI, Social Networks, Creativity, and Online Safety: https://linaedu.eu/erasmus-course-teachers-brand-in-digital-age-ai-social-networks/
- ✅PBL & TBL Together: „Question-solution-realization-promotion!”: https://linaedu.eu/erasmus-course-pbl-tbl-course-for-teachers/
See you in Split, Croatia for your teacher training Erasmus+ experience to the fullest!
Lina Edu Team
