You've probably heard of a polyglot (a speaker of many languages), but what's an omniglot? A speaker of all languages! Our mission is to bring as many languages as possible to as many learners as possible, matching eager students with local teachers. We want to celebrate the linguistic diversity of the Ocean State and create a community of language lovers. Sign up here to receive updates as we continue to grow our project and add new languages and classes!
Most of our classes have a maximum of 6 students, so register soon! If you want to take a class, but the available times don't work for your schedule or the class is full, please email us at info@omniglotsri.com. If there are enough interested students, we will add more sections.
Our spring semester starts on January 20 (see vacation schedule below). We offer both 16-week classes (billed evenly over 5 months) and 8-week classes (for those looking for a shorter commitment).
Laura Healy started Omniglots because she wanted a place for Barrington kids (including her own!) to learn languages. She has a master's degree in romance languages and literatures from Harvard, and she has taught in the DCE writing program there since 2013. As an undergraduate at Brown, Laura studied translation, and she translates poetry and children's books from Spanish into English. Before the pandemic, she and her family spent three years in Germany, where she learned about European language pedagogy and different approaches to raising multilingual children.
Julia Terra-Salomão recently graduated from Brown University with a B.A. in education studies and Portuguese & Brazilian studies. She grew up in central Massachusetts in a Portuguese household, and her passion for language learning blossomed through her experience learning Portuguese as a heritage speaker. After learning ASL at college and becoming a teaching assistant, Julia knew she wanted to help share this love of languages with others! In her free time, she loves to crochet, make art, and read. She’s very excited for a fun year of language learning!
Jennifer has over 20 years of experience teaching ESL and Spanish to both children and adults. She currently teaches Spanish at Providence Country Day School, and she previously worked as a public school teacher for over 17 years in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Illinois. She has also taught international students at Roger Williams University and CCRI. Jenn received a Master's in Applied Linguistics from UMASS Boston and has published articles reflecting the experiences of her teaching journey and being a first-generation American. She currently possesses teaching certifications for Spanish and ESL in RI and MA.
Hana Butler Gutiérrez is a recent graduate in mechanical engineering from Brown University. Originally from Guadalajara, Mexico, she was raised in a bilingual home, speaking English with her father and Spanish with her mother. She began learning French at age of six and spent a year abroad in France during high school. In addition to her love for languages, she enjoys staying active and creating sculptures. Hana is thrilled to have the opportunity to speak her mother language and share her firsthand experience with students in our Spanish classes.
We encourage our students to always keep in mind why they are studying a language, and we strive to keep our classes fun and meaningful so that the class itself becomes something to look forward to.
Learning a language is not something that happens overnight; it requires repeated exposure over time. We take every opportunity to expose our students to the languages they're studying, both inside and outside of class.
We are always looking for ways for our students to apply the language they've learned in ways that are meaningful to them. Getting students to a point where they can use the language — watching a foreign film, interpreting for a neighbor, writing a love letter — is our ultimate goal.