I − Overall Goals:

a) to update, expand and improve the training of researchers, and to train teachers to work in the three educational levels, promoting discussion and production of knowledge in Languages and Literatures.

b) to provide the teachers in Languages and Literatures, and other professionals of language and related areas, with a program of theoretical and applied studies, in order to improve professional qualification. c) to train qualified researchers in the many sub-areas of Languages and Literatures who are capable of identifying relevant problems and pointing out solutions through original and innovative research projects, by committing to rigorous and advanced scientific knowledge.

II − Specific Goals:

a) to implement and strengthen regional research conditions, both within and beyond university, by institutionalizing and strengthening projects and study groups, and encouraging inter-institutional cooperation at national and international levels.

b) to give teachers of public and private universities and schools, as well as other professionals who use language as their main obejct of work, the opportunity of continuous education and development of linguistic, discursive and literary knowledge that is necessary for pedagogical and/or professional practice.

c) to produce knowledge related to the Lines of Research of the Program’s Area of Concentration, from both sociocultural reality of the community and contemporary theoretical reflection about Language and Literature studies.

d) to offer students of Language and Literature courses and related areas, especially from the state of Rio Grande do Sul and Mercosur countries, the opportunity of an advanced training in research through projects that are linked to the Program lines of research.

e) to give researchers from UFPel and from other universities in the area the opportunity to strengthen and expand their research through integration with new projects and contact with new researchers.

f) to establish theoretical and practical bases for a comparative studies project, regarding speech and writing, in Portuguese, Spanish, English, French, and German.