Portuguese teaching in the Mercosur: past, present and future

In order to identify policies adopted by the Brazilian government to foster the Brazilian variant of the Portuguese language and to promote the country's culture within the MERCOSUR, our research is focused on: (1) reviewing the policies adopted by the government of Brazil regarding the mentioned issues; (2) identifying groups interested in Portuguese as a second or foreign language; (3) presenting data that support the analysis of the current status of teaching Portuguese in MERCOSUR countries. Therefore, we present results of a documental research for the issues above, with the objective of contributing towards the reflection on the Portuguese language and the Brazilian culture, as well as future proposals regarding teaching/learning Portuguese in the MERCOSUR. We also highlight the importance of Brazil as a country that welcomes immigrants interested in developing studies, research and activities related to several careers. In view of this we have verified the need for substantial investments in teacher qualification, theoretical and scientific publications as well as hands-on learning materials