Educating & Empowering Gen Z:
Innovative Strategies
for
Effective Language Learning
Rania Jabr & Laila ElSerty
MYFest 2025
The American University in Cairo, Egypt
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Outline
a) Definition
b) Characteristics
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Did you know?
According to a recent article in a New York magazine, “nearly every student is using AI to cheat their way through college.
It's happening in high school and lower grades, too.”
(Michael Linsin, May 15, 2025)
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The goal is not to convince Gen Z
that AI is better than them.
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The goal is to convince Gen Z that using AI “responsibly” will make them better learners.
Gen Z are identified as individuals who are born between 1997 and 2012.
(Singer et al., 2023)
They are presently 25 years old and younger.
They are often referred to as “Zoomers”, the “iGeneration”, & “Digital Natives”.
(Slepian et al., 2023)
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Definition
What are the
characteristics of GenZ?
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Characteristics
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What are the challenges Gen Z faces in language learning?
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Academic Integrity & AI Use
10
What is
“RESPONSIBLE”
use of AI?
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12
Suggest Tasks for Responsible Use of AI
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AI Collaborative
Tasks
AI Resistant
Tasks
Suggested Tasks
AI Collaborative Tasks
AI Resistant Tasks
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The goal is to
MODEL responsible AI use
for our students
in our
teaching, assessment, assignments & tasks.
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Academic Integrity & AI Use
Suggested Solutions
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Suggested Methodologies
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Differentiated Instruction
As a Solution
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What is the definition of “Differentiated Instruction”?
How to use AI to
“Differentiate Instruction”
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Multiple Roles of AI
As “Support” to Gen Z
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High Impact Assessment
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Formative Assessment
How might a task change using AI?
Can we redesign tasks to prioritize reasoning & creativity?
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Formative Assessment
to amplify their voice
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Summative Assessment
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Conclusion
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Rank order the following
Why should we encourage Gen Z to use AI responsibly?
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Write one or two takeaways from this presentation
you have found interesting.
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References
Chan, C. K. Y., & Lee, K. K. (2023). The AI generation gap: Are Gen Z students more interested in adopting
generative AI such as ChatGPT in teaching and learning than their Gen X and millennial generation
teachers?. Smart learning environments, 10(1), 60.
Demir, B., & Sonmez, G. (2021). Generation Z students' expectations from English language instruction.
Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 17(S1), 683-701.
Smith, G. E., International Society for Technology in Education., & Throne, S. (2007). Differentiating
instruction with technology in K-5 classrooms (First edition.). International Society for Technology in Education.
Suwastini, N. K. A., Rinawati, N. K. A., Jayantini, I. G. A. S. R., & Dantes, G. R. (2021). Differentiated
instruction across EFL classrooms: A conceptual review. Tell-Us Journal, 7(1), 14-41.
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