Overview
Background
Adriana Díaz (she/her/ella) works at the intersections of language, power, and pedagogy, asking what becomes possible when language education is approached as an unfinished, decolonial, and hopeful practice of becoming otherwise. Born in Argentina and now living and working on the unceded lands of the Turrbal and Jagera Peoples, her work critically examines the colonial, patriarchal, and monolingual structures embedded in curricula and classrooms. In response, she cultivates inclusive, empowering, and critically reflexive pedagogies that honour plurality and relationality.
With over two decades of experience in multilingual and intercultural education, Adriana’s scholarship, teaching, and leadership seek to unsettle dominant paradigms while nurturing more equitable and generative approaches to language learning. Drawing on critical pedagogy, intersectional feminism, and decolonial thought, she traces raciolinguistic and ideological patterns that shape educational practice and works collaboratively to reimagine their possibilities.
Deeply committed to collective transformation, she supports and (un)learns alongside fellow language educators and scholars, co-creating pedagogical approaches that are responsive, dialogic, and grounded in shared responsibility. Her work invites ongoing inquiry into how we teach, learn, and live with language in ways that are just, liberatory, and yet always emergent.
Availability
- Dr Adriana Diaz is:
- Not available for supervision
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Arts, Griffith University
- Bachelor (Honours), Griffith University
- Doctor of Philosophy, Griffith University
Research interests
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Critical, Decolonial Language Pedagogies
Approaches to language learning and teaching that challenge traditional, Eurocentric views of 'language,' prioritizing social justice, inclusivity, and equity through a critical examination of power structures, cultural hierarchies, and historical contexts that have marginalised certain languages and knowledge systems.
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Intercultural language learning
Educational approach that fosters critical reflection on cultural diversity, aiming to build communicative competence and intercultural sensitivity essential for effective interaction in a globalised world.
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Critical Translation Studies
A lens through which to advance language studies as a socially situated act that reflects and influences power dynamics, cultural representation, and ideology. This perspective views translation as a transformative process, highlighting issues of ethics, agency, and cultural bias, and urging a critical awareness of its role in shaping narratives.
Works
Search Professor Adriana Diaz’s works on UQ eSpace
2013
Journal Article
Intercultural understanding and professional learning through critical engagement
Diaz, Adriana (2013). Intercultural understanding and professional learning through critical engagement. Babel, 48 (1), 12-19.
2013
Book
Developing Critical Languaculture Pedagogies in Higher Education: Theory and Practice
Diaz, Adriana Raquel (2013). Developing Critical Languaculture Pedagogies in Higher Education: Theory and Practice. Bristol, United Kingdom: Multilingual Matters. doi: 10.21832/9781783090365
2012
Conference Publication
Intercultural competence through language education in Australian higher education: Mission (im)possible?
Diaz, Adriana (2012). Intercultural competence through language education in Australian higher education: Mission (im)possible?. LCNAU's Inaugural Colloquium, Melbourne, VIC Australia, 26-28 September 2011. Melbourne: Languages and Cultures Network for Australian Universities (LCNAU).
2008
Journal Article
Engaging with diversity: the construction of policy for intercultural education in Italy
Liddicoat, Anthony J. and Diaz, Adriana (2008). Engaging with diversity: the construction of policy for intercultural education in Italy. Intercultural Education, 19 (2), 137-150. doi: 10.1080/14675980801889666
Funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Adriana Diaz is:
- Not available for supervision
Supervision history
Current supervision
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Doctor Philosophy
Fostering Intercultural Capability: Exploring secondary school students' perspectives on language learning
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Barbara Hanna
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Doctor Philosophy
What are the prevailing attitudes, perceptions and context that underpin the low retention rate for Queensland students of foreign languages, and comparing this issue nationally and internationally, how can it be resolved through education policy, curriculum, and schools?
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Barbara Hanna
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Doctor Philosophy
THE ROLE OF LANGUAGE IN EARLY LITERACY POLICIES AND PROGRAMS
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Marnee Shay, Dr Samantha Disbray
Completed supervision
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2022
Doctor Philosophy
Building belonging through everyday otherness and conviviality: A study of people from African backgrounds and long-term residents in the community of Moorooka, Brisbane
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Sol Rojas-Lizana
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2024
Doctor Philosophy
Perceptions of diversity beyond nationality: An exploratory study on the student experience of intercultural group work at an Australian university
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Paul Moore
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2022
Doctor Philosophy
Spanish as a world(ing) languaging: A multimodal critical discourse analysis of teachers' everyday practices in Australia
Associate Advisor
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2020
Doctor Philosophy
Beyond and within the NS/NNS Discourses: English Teaching in the Saudi PYPs
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Barbara Hanna
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2017
Doctor Philosophy
The Effects of Planning Time on Discourse Competence in Oral Task Performance
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Noriko Iwashita
Media
Enquiries
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