Sandra Radinger

SPRACHE : LEBEN : FORSCHEN : BILDEN

Sandra Radinger

Picture of Sandra Radinger
1

I am a researcher and educator in applied and educational linguistics, focusing on languaging, multilingualism, migration, and caring communities. My work explores how everyday language practices shape speaker voice, participation, and belonging. Building on early research on English as a Lingua Franca, I take a broader languaging perspective, drawing on qualitative, participatory, and philosophical practice–informed approaches to investigate how communication can foster care, agency, and citizenship in multilingual and migratory contexts.

My research trajectory began with work on English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) communication, where I examined the communicative possibilities and limitations of shared languages in migration contexts. Building on this foundation, my current work adopts a broader languaging perspective, attending to lived language experience, access to linguistic resources, and the relational and ethical dimensions of communication across multilingual settings.

I work primarily with qualitative and participatory research approaches and collaborate closely with migrants, language teachers, health care professionals, and public institutions in educational and health-related contexts. My research is situated at the intersection of applied linguistics, sociolinguistics, public health, and palliative care, and is guided by a commitment to socially engaged, practice-oriented scholarship.

A central aspect of my current work lies at the intersection of applied linguistics and philosophy, particularly philosophical practice. I investigate how dialogical and reflective practices can support speaker voice, agency, and citizenship, and how they may contribute to the development of caring communities in linguistically and socially diverse contexts.

Alongside my academic research, I experiment with forms of linguistic expression, writing and participating in text-based performances such as poetry and science slams, as part of a broader interest in alternative ways of knowing, expressing, and sharing research.

RESEARCH
TEACHING
TEXT & PERFORMANCE

Recent activities:

Open Access Publication:
Schuchter, P., Radinger, S., Rieger, S.V. and Wegleitner, K. (2025), Thoughtful Accompaniment in Life’s Final Stages: Philosophical Practice as a Complement to Ethics Consultation. Bioethics. https://doi.org/10.1111/bioe.70031

Third-Party-Funding:
6-Month ÖAW PostDocTrack Scholarship (starting 03/2026)

Prize for Dissertation:
Award of the Dr. Maria Schaumayer Stiftung Dec 2025

Workshop at Zukunftsdialog BG Vöcklabruck
Wenn die Worte fehlen – kommen wir trotzdem zusammen?!

Key publications

Radinger, S. and Wimmer, T. (2024) Geschichte als „superb ally“ in sprachensensibler Bildung: Materialien zur Auseinandersetzung mit der gesellschaftspolitischen Bedeutung (eigener) Bildungspraxis im (historischen) Kontext des mehrsprachigen Österreich. In B. Schrammel, K.-B. Boeckmann and D. Gilly (eds). Sprachen.Vielfalt fördern: Zukunftsperspektiven für die Qualitätsentwicklung in der Pädagog*innenbildung, 97–111. Graz: Leykam. [Open Access, available here https://uni.leykamverlag.at/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/isbn.978-3-7011-0551-9-7.pdf]

Radinger, S. (2023). 4. Reclaiming Voice in the Austrian Refugee Context through Experiences of Ambiguity. In J. Gspandl, C. Korb, A. Heiling & E. Erling (Ed.), The Power of Voice in Transforming Multilingual Societies (pp. 61-81). Bristol, Blue Ridge Summit: Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781800412040-007

Erling, E. J., Radinger, S. & Foltz, A. (2020). Understanding Low Outcomes in English Language Education in Austrian Middle Schools: The Role of Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2020.1829630

Previous Collaborations

Institut für Philosophische Praxis und Sorgekultur (AT)
Stadtbibliothek Graz (AT)
Verein Peregrina, Wien (AT)
Sprach- und Lebensschule (AT)
&
(DE)
Fremde Werden Freunde, Wien (AT)

  1. (c) picture by Andreas Fuchslueger. ↩︎