Exploring Pedagogical Approaches for Teaching English to Generation Z: A Bibliometric Analysis

Abstract

There has been a paradigm shift in the knowledge acquisition over the decades with the advent of digital era and information and communication technology. In the traditional form knowledge transfer has been largely limited to lectures and discussions with the instructor being the focal point of knowledge transfer. In the current generation, where the Generation Z is the student herd, the knowledge acquisitions must adapt to compliment their skills and behavioral attributes. There seems to be a gap with Generation-Z learners being digitally –skilled but instructors either migrating to technology or being non-skilled. This objective of the paper is to understand the pedagogical approaches for teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) to the Generation Z using Bibliometric analysis. To do so, the paper has searched the SCOPUS database to examine the quality research conducted in this study until recently. The analysis included the keywords “Generation Z”, “Pedagogy” and “English Language Learning.” The results of the study indicate significant co-occurrences with mobile learning and e-learning. These papers emphasize the need for adapting technological tools to teach EFL to the Generation Z. Additionally, the limited research in this area indicates the enormous scope in this domain for further scientific inquiry and pedagogical recommendations.