How Can English Teachers Support Students Experiencing Grief and Loss? With Brittany Collins – S03E03

What should you say when a student tells you someone has died? And how can you make room for grief in an English lesson without asking a learner to share more than they want to?Gav and Em reflect on moments when students have spoken about bereavement, including Em’s experience with a child whose classroom task brought back the loss of his father. They discuss the difference between a one-to-one lesson and a group class, when a quiet expression of sympathy may be enough, and why correcting a learner’s English during a painful conversation can feel insensitive.Author and educator Brittany Collins joins the episode to explain grief-responsive teaching. Drawing on her book Learning from Loss: A Trauma-Informed Approach to Supporting Grieving Students, she explores how loss can affect concentration and behaviour. She offers practical ways to provide routine, choice and caring relationships, alongside reading and writing activities that let students decide whether to take part.The episode ends with Cassandra Ormachea’s Teacher, Teach Me lesson on the idiom “burning the candle at both ends”.Brittany: https://www.griefresponsiveteaching.comLearning from Loss: https://www.heinemann.com/products/e13420.aspxInstagram: @griefresponsiveteachingCassandra: https://www.instagram.com/cassandraormachea.elt/If you find the show useful, you can send us a thanks at https://ko-fi.com/howtoenglishpod. Visit https://howtoenglishpod.com for practical teaching ideas and resources ready to use.Chapters0:00 Introduction and content warning2:23 When a student mentions a loss6:08 Giving learners space to choose whether to talk9:55 Responding without correcting their English11:35 A classroom activity that brought up grief12:50 What if you hear about a student’s loss from someone else?20:30 Why direct questions can feel exposing21:44 Introducing Brittany Collins and her book23:43 What is grief-responsive teaching?26:05 How grief can affect learning and behaviour29:15 Routines, choice and a supportive classroom30:09 Caring relationships and students’ boundaries31:03 Reading and writing activities33:22 Gav and Em reflect on support for students and teachers36:34 Cassandra explains “burning the candle at both ends”