{"id":776647,"date":"2025-12-01T12:00:18","date_gmt":"2025-12-01T11:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.servethecity.paris\/?p=776647"},"modified":"2026-02-09T20:48:34","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T19:48:34","slug":"interview-with-emily-bringing-language-and-connection-to-refugees-through-serve-the-city-paris","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.servethecity.paris\/fr\/2025\/12\/01\/interview-with-emily-bringing-language-and-connection-to-refugees-through-serve-the-city-paris\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview with Emily \u2014 Bringing Language and Connection to Refugees through Serve the City Paris"},"content":{"rendered":"

This month, we had the pleasure of speaking with <\/span>Emily<\/strong>, one of our dedicated volunteers who has been leading <\/span>Language Exchange workshops<\/strong> for nearly a year. Her sessions help refugees in Paris improve their English skills \u2014 but more than that, they build community, confidence, and connection.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. How did you first get involved with Serve the City Paris?<\/strong>
    \n<\/span> \u201cI used to volunteer as an English tutor in the United States, and I really enjoyed that process,\u201d Emily says. \u201cWhen I moved to Paris, I wanted to do something similar, especially working with refugee communities. I found Serve the City online, and I\u2019ve been volunteering since January \u2014 it\u2019s been about 11 months now.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n
  2. Can you tell us a bit about how the Language Exchange workshops work?<\/strong>
    \n<\/span> \u201cIt\u2019s going really well! I love the structure we have,\u201d she explains. \u201cEach week we focus on a concept \u2014 last week, for example, we talked about autumn weather. We start with a short lesson where everyone listens and repeats, and we build on grammar and tenses gradually. Since participants\u2019 English levels vary a lot, we always start from the basics. Then we pair volunteers with beneficiaries for around 40 minutes of conversation \u2014 and, of course, we finish the evening with pizza upstairs!\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n
  3. What do participants gain from joining these sessions?<\/strong>
    \n<\/span> \u201cSometimes participants ask, \u2018Why English?\u2019 but English really is a very useful language,\u201d Emily shares. \u201cIt helps them in their jobs and with integrating into a new culture. For some who don\u2019t currently have work, it also helps create a sense of rhythm and purpose. It\u2019s not just language learning \u2014 it\u2019s community building.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n
  4. You sometimes run the sessions alone. How do you keep them engaging?<\/strong>
    \n<\/span> \u201cI like to make them interactive \u2014 I spend about 15 minutes on vocabulary and cultural concepts, then 40 minutes on pair conversations. It\u2019s all about participation and connection.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n
  5. Can you share a memorable moment from your time volunteering?<\/strong>
    \n<\/span> \u201cOne day, a few of the beneficiaries shared their personal stories \u2014 walking from another country, being chased by dogs, or going days without food,\u201d Emily recalls. \u201cThose moments remind me of the resilience they have. Another time, we took 15 beneficiaries to Disneyland Paris. They told me they felt like kids again that day \u2014 so happy and carefree. That\u2019s something I\u2019ll never forget.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n
  6. What have you personally gained from this experience?<\/strong>
    \n<\/span> \u201cI\u2019ve found a strong sense of purpose through volunteering,\u201d Emily says. \u201cIt gives me good feelings \u2014 and I\u2019ve made real friendships with other volunteers. It\u2019s fulfilling on so many levels.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n
  7. What would you say to someone thinking about joining Serve the City as a volunteer?<\/strong>
    \n<\/span> \u201cI\u2019d say you have nothing to lose! You can come as often as you like, contribute from day one, and have fun \u2014 and don\u2019t forget, there\u2019s always pizza!\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \ud83d\udcac Thank you, Emily, for your passion, warmth, and commitment to helping others feel at home through language and friendship.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    This month, we had the pleasure of speaking with Emily, one of our dedicated volunteers who has been leading Language Exchange workshops for nearly a year. Her sessions help refugees in Paris improve their English skills \u2014 but more than that, they build community, confidence, and connection. How did you first get involved with Serve […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":115,"featured_media":776751,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-776647","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.servethecity.paris\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/776647","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.servethecity.paris\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.servethecity.paris\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.servethecity.paris\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/115"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.servethecity.paris\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=776647"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.servethecity.paris\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/776647\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":776652,"href":"https:\/\/www.servethecity.paris\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/776647\/revisions\/776652"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.servethecity.paris\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/776751"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.servethecity.paris\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=776647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.servethecity.paris\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=776647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.servethecity.paris\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=776647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}