Senior Instructor Dr. Robin Barr holds a PhD in Linguistics from Harvard, an MA in Linguistics from Harvard, and a BA in Linguistics from Yale. Dr. Barr is Linguist In Residence at American University, where she has been teaching in the TESOL graduate program since 1996. She also teaches and holds workshops for WLC's community partners: the University of the District of Columbia, Washington English Center, English Language Training Solutions (Color Vowel ®) and the Institute for International Education (Fulbright).

Robin Barr has been teaching at WLC since 2013, where she has developed a responsive curriculum that combines traditional phonics with innovative approaches using Multiple Intelligences, the Color Vowel® Approach, and other brain-based strategies. She specializes in teaching students with multiple literacy issues, such as dyslexia combined with unfamiliarity with English, speech impairments, brain injuries, or disrupted education. Her research focuses on developing, piloting, and testing new teaching methods based on psycholinguistic and neurolinguistic discoveries. "It is very important to me to reach these invisible students that don't easily fit into traditional pigeon-holes, so that no learners fall through the cracks. It's exciting to help students discover ways to bypass their brain barriers, which are different for each individual."

Robin Barr is also an avid amateur oboist, active in many DC-area classical ensembles, and uses her musical training in class by kazooing and singing together.