The U.S. Department of State is awarding Hawaii Pacific University nearly $750,000 to develop English language teaching materials for use overseas and to host 26 English teachers from other countries at a summer institute in June, the university announced in a news release.

The project will be managed by Carlos Juarez of the HPU's Department of International Studies and Sandra McKay, a professor of applied linguistics.

The goal of the project is to design classroom materials that illustrate the diversity of American life and promote English language learning and cross-cultural awareness. Applied linguistics faculty at HPU will also revise teaching materials that have already been developed by the State Department's Office of English Language Programs.

The teaching materials will include videotaped lesson plans produced with support from faculty and graduate students in the HPU Department of Communication, the university said.