Episode Transcript
[00:00:06] Speaker A: Everything is a story through their gadgets. So in the classroom, the teacher needs to present it not in silos, separately, but as everything as interconnected as a narrative, as a story.
[00:00:18] Speaker B: Children absolutely need the mirrored expression. Oh, you're upset. Oh, you're happy. Yet so crucial for the normal development.
[00:00:27] Speaker A: There are values driven generation, when we.
[00:00:30] Speaker B: Communicate online becomes very ab. Ab exchange, isn't it? So you, you don't interrupt, you, you don't, you know, it really does affect how you take turns, how you communicate.
[00:00:42] Speaker A: We need to educate our students on ethics of AI and modern technologies.
[00:00:58] Speaker C: Welcome.
Hi, Erica. Hi, Olga. We had a really great first episode where we were kind of really defining what are the characteristics of Generation Alpha, what their strengths and some of their challenges are. So now we're going to look in a bit more detail at the kind of, the social side of this, the way that they connect with each other, that collaborative side, that social side of this, of this generation.
And so I want to start off with a, you know, with a kind of big question. Is there a difference in the way that Generation Alpha students, children socialize and behave with others?
[00:01:46] Speaker A: They prefer socializing on online, for example, right now. And that obviously there are the cons with that too.
Being in the comfort of your own home and playing games, online games, and socializing online is fine, but then when they're offline, as we mentioned before in the first episode, then they tend to get the.
They tend to have weaker offline social skills because being online, you're not going to see the body language, you're not going to see the facial expressions, you know, gonna see, you know, learn social cues, what's inappropriate and what's appropriate. So when they get offline, then the anxiety starts.
So when they're together socializing, as Olga said in the first episode, they tend to be virtually social, but not socialized. So they could be in one circle, sitting together, they're all on their mobiles, being social through their mobiles, but not socializing amongst themselves. And we get that a lot with Generation Alpha.
[00:03:01] Speaker C: How interesting. So I get that thing about body language, reading faces and things so important for communication. Yes.
[00:03:11] Speaker A: You know, and even reading social cues.
[00:03:13] Speaker B: Body language, body language intonation, your facial, your, your micro, micro expression.
[00:03:18] Speaker A: Even, for example, when people are messaging through WhatsApp, you wouldn't know what tone of voice the other person is speaking. Is this an angry tone of voice? Is it? So all this goes missing through the digital communication because some of those things.
[00:03:36] Speaker C: Are communicated through different ways when you're on social media through Emojis and.
[00:03:43] Speaker B: Well, I'm going to put on my TEFL hat on the teaching hat. In terms of communication, when you think about how we message each other, Generation Alpha, actually, they're not that keen on texting. They're more. Younger people are more keen on audio exchange, short video exchange and stuff. But still when we communicate online, it becomes very abab exchange, isn't it? So you don't interrupt, you don't, you know, it really does affect how you take turns, how you communicate, how you get your message across, how you clarify and use other communicative skill to interact. That has an impact on language teaching, for example, because when people expect to just, you know, a B exchange, that becomes tricky in real life because we don't communicate like that. We interrupt or talk over each other. As you are demonstrating, like we are demonstrating right now.
[00:04:40] Speaker A: We're modeling this.
[00:04:41] Speaker B: Yeah. And there's false starts and other things. Yeah. That we have to be mindful of.
[00:04:48] Speaker C: Yes. Those communications that turn, taking. Managing the conversation. Absolutely.
[00:04:52] Speaker A: And when it comes to a neurological point of view, when you are interacting face to face, our mirror neurons are triggered. Mirror neurons are our brain cells which make us absorb the emotions, behavior and thoughts of other people.
And that is those are triggered when we have face to face communication.
And that's what triggers empathy as well. So if I am with a friend who's just lost her job and is upset and disappointed and crying, my mirror neurons would be triggered and I'd absorb her disappointment, her anxiety. And that creates empathy. Yes. And that goes missing when it comes to online digital communication.
[00:05:42] Speaker C: Yes. Because I noticed we're mirroring each other quite a bit here as well with our hand gestures.
[00:05:50] Speaker B: For children, it's such a crucial part of the child's development because there's been research that's been, you know, long, long time ago. I'm talking 60s, 70s, when researchers started actually investigating what is, what is about the relationship, what about the, about the attachment that makes us so you know what, that helps us grow and develop and become who we are. And what's fascinating is like take development psychology, for example. Young children absolutely need the mirrored expression. Like mothers do that. Fathers as well, significant caregivers do that very intuitively. When the baby is upset, we tend to naturally say, oh, you're upset. Oh, you're happy. Yeah.
It's so crucial for the normal development of a child to get that expressions mirrored to them because it's a crucial part of the emotional development.
[00:06:44] Speaker C: Right, right.
Yes. So we talked a bit about their independence as Interacting with the world. But even as learners, they have stronger sense of independence.
But is there a sense in that they have stronger awareness of social issues and the global issues than perhaps previous generations?
[00:07:15] Speaker B: Yes, I think so. I think so.
Such students are actually, it's a well known fact that there's a lot of young students worry about the climate change, the global issues. It becomes something they talk about and something that is of interest to them. So yeah, I can, I can agree with that.
[00:07:37] Speaker C: So this is kind of, as you say, almost on a micro level of communication can be difficult, that empathy part. But on a global scale, actually more connected, more empathy.
[00:07:50] Speaker A: There are values driven generation.
[00:07:52] Speaker C: Right.
[00:07:53] Speaker A: Since, you know, with a click of a button, they have all, you know, the whole world in front of them, they can see all the issues going on around the world. So then the empathy, you know, is channeled towards the global issues.
[00:08:08] Speaker C: Right, right. That's so interesting.
[00:08:11] Speaker B: I think I agree with Eric in terms of, you know, it's a value driven generation. What we mean by that is that because they are exposed to such random bits of information all the time, they eventually choose channel it, you know, because of the personalized content, because of the algorithms they work out for themselves, what interests them and they, they go down the path that applies to them and applies to their values as well. Again, the young learners, yes, the values are still developing, obviously. But what's interesting is that I think they're sensitive to, to the global, to the global issues as well, because they see the world as, as whole. Yes, it's connected.
[00:08:51] Speaker A: Before, when we were much younger, values were coming from home together with school.
[00:08:58] Speaker B: In the first place.
[00:08:59] Speaker A: Yes. But now it's mixed home, school and, you know, technology.
[00:09:06] Speaker C: And of course that is one of the difficult parts of this. You mentioned algorithms and we know that, that what they are exposed to is not random. It is partly driven by algorithms. You start, we see it as random.
That's right.
[00:09:26] Speaker B: We might see that as random.
[00:09:27] Speaker C: We think it's random, we think we're seeing the world as it is. But actually we've shown an interest in something and so more of that gets fed to us and.
[00:09:35] Speaker B: Yeah, creating those eco chambers.
[00:09:38] Speaker C: Exactly. That's right.
[00:09:40] Speaker B: That can really distort.
[00:09:42] Speaker A: That's why we need to educate our students on ethics of AI and modern technologies.
I think it's a very, very important topic to pass on to our students the ethics of AI and modern technologies and to decipher fake news from real news. Yes, that's what we need to teach. Or when they're Looking up when they're using AI.
AI doesn't give you all the correct information.
So let's teach our students what to decipher. What's the correct information from the incorrect through, you know, this AI information.
[00:10:29] Speaker C: Absolutely.
And I think that links to something you said in the first episode about not distinguishing, not necessarily making such a clear distinction between reality and alternative word worlds created immersive worlds which are not reality.
So moving between those quite easily in a way that I would feel uncomfortable. To me, it has to be clear what's reality and what's not.
But this does create a challenge in terms of that critical thinking, what is true and what's not true.
[00:11:09] Speaker B: Yeah. And for example, AI videos, generated videos gain millions and millions of views to the point that it's difficult for a grown up to distinguish between fact and reality, fact and fake.
Which is fascinating in itself how, you know, you just, just can't do that anymore.
[00:11:34] Speaker A: Even news platforms, for example, for us adults, it's. Is this real? Is it twisted?
[00:11:42] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:11:42] Speaker A: So, you know, just imagine students who have everything at hand and it's, you know, fast flow of information.
[00:11:52] Speaker C: It's very difficult.
[00:11:52] Speaker A: I think we need to focus on teaching. Teaching them, yes. The ethics and the deciphering.
[00:11:59] Speaker C: Yes, the AI.
[00:12:00] Speaker A: I think that's a skill that students need to learn.
Hi, I'm Dr. Erica Gaglia. If you're curious about how Generation Alpha learns and how we can teach them more effectively, I'd love for you to check out the book Olga Saya and I co wrote. We take a deep dive into the neuroscience behind how this generation processes information, builds focus and engages with the world.
You will find practical strategies designed to help you connect with Generation Alpha learners in meaningful ways. It's a resource for every teacher who wants to understand not just what to teach, but how these young minds learn best. Enjoy the read. See the link in the description for more information.
[00:12:42] Speaker C: So talking about the classroom again, coming back to perhaps the more micro level and that interaction between people, and we were talking about a number of reasons why that can be difficult for students who are developing their interactive skills on phones.
Not completely, but it's a stronger influence. So as a teacher and you're trying to get your students to work together, to learn together in the classroom, in a live space.
I mean, that's obviously a challenge for a lot of teachers.
Are there things that they can do which would help them with that challenge?
[00:13:24] Speaker B: Well, in terms of learning English as a foreign language, for example, the first thing I was thinking about is that we previously Used to assume that students can communicate certain things in the L1, the first language. And all we need to do is just to, you know, teach them the language so that they can do it in the second language in English as a foreign language. But now I think this assumption is actually is not working anymore. So we instead of just assuming they can do it, we'll probably have to model it. Probably we'll have to teach them explicitly how to ask questions in interaction, how to politely interrupt, how to do other things. And the teacher becomes that model. Not necessarily a teacher or whatever.
Teaching support, support you using videos, audio and stuff. So I think modeling becomes a big thing. So we can't really assume that they can do it in the first place. And also I think we can teach the students naturally interact when it's relevant and personalized to them.
What I mean is asking questions in itself is a meaningless task. But asking questions to get something out of it, to achieve a task becomes meaningful for them. We were actually having a joke previously, before the podcast recording is like the first question we asked entering this space is what's the WI FI password? So we don't ask people, we don't say what's your name, where are you from?
And so on. What is the WI FI password? What's the WI FI call? How can you spell it for me? So that is fascinating.
[00:15:15] Speaker C: Yes. Yeah.
[00:15:16] Speaker B: So what?
[00:15:17] Speaker C: Real information gaps, I suppose.
[00:15:19] Speaker B: Information gaps, exactly. It could be a micro information gap just to get the WI FI password. Or it could be a multi stage information gap to achieve a bigger aim, a bigger task, such as creating a post or creating some sort of, you know, I don't know, putting up a cupcake stall for. For this, for the other classroom and things like that. So we can vary those things so.
[00:15:48] Speaker C: Much more task based.
[00:15:50] Speaker A: Yeah, I think the teacher need. The educator needs to move from a content deliverer to a mediator of mean making.
So we need to.
So what? Let me explain in simpler terms.
The educator needs to present the meaning behind what they're presenting in the classroom because they need to make it as a narrative. What they're presenting. They need to make it and to present it in a form of a narrative, form of a story, because that's what Gen Alpha are used to through their gadgets. Everything is a story through their gadgets. So in the classroom, the teacher needs to present it present, not in silos separately, but as everything as interconnected as a narrative, as a story.
[00:16:41] Speaker C: Right.
[00:16:42] Speaker A: To engage the students.
[00:16:44] Speaker C: Right, right. Yeah. So the why of everything is much More important than it has been. I love the idea of creating a narrative for your lesson.
[00:16:56] Speaker B: Yeah. And to link it to what we talked previously about, that actually, for these students, learning doesn't end with a lesson, it extends beyond a lesson. It continues at home and stuff. A lot of the work they can do can be asynchronous, where they can upload their findings from home to the collaborative board, for example, thus creating this ongoing learning and thinking about things outside of the lesson, outside of the classroom.
[00:17:22] Speaker A: So that's not disconnected school.
[00:17:24] Speaker B: So it's part of the communication as well.
Because, for example, even when they do, even when they say, upload their content, upload their piece of work to say asynchronously to the collaborative board, they can comment on other people's work from home and they can actually see what other people have been busy doing in real life from home. So the point I'm making is that teaching how to socialise, how to interact, of course it's so valuable when we do it face to face in clubs. This is golden time where we can actually make use of it. But at the same time, we can support this by encouraging our students to continue their work from home as well.
[00:18:06] Speaker C: And almost exploiting that positive element of then taking control almost of that pacing of their learning.
[00:18:15] Speaker B: Exactly.
[00:18:16] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:18:17] Speaker A: Personalized.
[00:18:18] Speaker C: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:18:19] Speaker A: Because that's what Genalfa are used to.
[00:18:22] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:18:22] Speaker A: Even through games, everything is personalized.
[00:18:25] Speaker C: Right.
[00:18:26] Speaker A: So they would be expecting. It's very, very difficult within the classroom to personalize.
Once you have a whole classroom, it's very difficult to personalize for each individual. But if technology comes in as a tool, as one of the tools that could. It could happen that learning could be personalized for each student.
[00:18:52] Speaker C: And one of the things that came through and what you were talking about there was content generation, content development, and this is productive skills from a language teaching point of view. But if you feels like this is. If there's one thing that engages Generation Alpha, it is producing content.
[00:19:12] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:19:13] Speaker C: And they see people their same age as them on YouTube, Tik Tok, etc, producing content. That content production seems to be the key.
[00:19:24] Speaker B: Exactly. Is one of their aspirations is to become a YouTuber is become a content creator. Well, they create memes as well. They create. Create those little, you know, that language of communication. One of the fascinating things, I think everybody watched adolescents, Right. They're all older, obviously, all the children and stuff. But when you really explore that subculture of communication behind the emoji, the meaning behind the emojis is actually there's the whole world that is hidden from grown ups quite often is what the emojis mean, what those little memes mean.
And actually when I looked at memes that these children are using, which is so sweet, I think the memes I used to use, they're still trendy, which is. Yeah, it kind of gave me this little feeling of connectedness because they still find it fascinating, they still find it usable, they still use and reuse the, say Gen Z, the memes and stuff. So they love 1980s music. Isn't it fascinating?
[00:20:25] Speaker C: Wow. Yes.
[00:20:26] Speaker A: They have all this content, you know, through their gadgets. And that is why we need to, in class, use the content to teach skill.
So we have the syllabus, our learning outcomes, but we need to focus on using that content to teach skills in the classroom because by the time children leave school, school content will be obsolete because the constant flow of information being updated is at a very, very fast rate.
[00:21:03] Speaker C: Right, right.
[00:21:04] Speaker A: And the content is at the fingertips through technology.
[00:21:08] Speaker C: So that's true.
[00:21:09] Speaker A: We need to teach them. For example, one of my favorite topics, as you noticed, is the regulation of emotions through, you know, through our teaching.
[00:21:21] Speaker C: Right.
Can I ask a little bit more what you mean by that? The regulation of emotions through teaching.
[00:21:28] Speaker A: For example, the.
For example, if we're talking about climate change, for example, so everyone start a debate in the classroom about climate change and emotions come into this very hot topic of climate change or for example, war, you know, and then the teacher would get in topic of emotions. For example, how are you feeling about talking about this topic? How do you feel about seeing this happening on the other side of the world and start getting in the topic of emotion and emotion regulation. There's also the skill of conflict resolution as well.
[00:22:11] Speaker C: Right.
[00:22:12] Speaker B: I could just add to this element of emotional regulation in the classroom.
What I find fascinating is the use of memes across generations anyway, but the, the phenomenon of a meme is actually, is to express a shared emotion. It's like this is my face when I. It's relatable.
So what would basically happens when learners, for example, find a meme that reflects, you know, how they feel today or how they feel about the upcoming exams, for example, that kind of reflects the shared experience within the group within, across the generation that gives this sense of connection, that sense of shared and recognized emotion. So we're talking the shared emotion across a lot of people.
[00:23:02] Speaker C: Right.
[00:23:02] Speaker B: You know?
[00:23:02] Speaker C: Right. How interesting. And there's also this multimodal aspect to communication in the sense of the visual and the, and the, and the words combining, which I think is a. Which is a key aspect of communication for Generation Alpha.
[00:23:20] Speaker A: Yes. In fact, this generation, since they have so many different ways of learning, would prefer it in a multimodal way, you know, so you'd present the same information through different ways, for example, teaching a grammar concept through a video, you know, through a text, even through role play, for example.
[00:23:43] Speaker C: Right.
[00:23:43] Speaker A: So it's different ways of, you know, putting it in context in a role play, for example.
So it's through different ways of learning.
[00:23:55] Speaker C: Right.
So this been really fascinating thinking about that social side of, of the experience and the ability to communicate and to learn for Generation Alpha. Thank you. Thank you so much.
[00:24:20] Speaker B: Sam.
