Seyda Dogan, Turkey
Hi Harley. Your question is important but I think that it is not very necessary to focus on the manner of articulation very much. You can pronounce the sounds that aren't found in their language as a model and then you can move on. I think this detailed subject (articulation etc) is more suited to university study.

Loveday Pollard, France
Hi Harley. I have found a book by Ann Baker published by Cambridge University Press useful for teaching pronunciation. There are two levels beginner and intermediate: 'Tree or Three?' and 'Ship or Sheep?'
Advice I was given about teaching pronunciation was keep it short (so incorporated in a lesson) and focus on sounds which cause difficulty of understanding for the listener. There are three stages to take the learner through: recognition of the sound (hence taught in contrast to one they can pronounce), first attempts at reproducing the sound called approximation and after practice, reproduction (the amount of practice can vary for each person of course). And enjoy doing it!

Barbara Race, France
I have just started (not for the first time) a group of complete beginners, monolingual, aged 60+. Inevitably very early on we met 'th'. For French people this is the most difficult sound in English. I compare it to the French 'r' for English people. I also point out some of the equivalent difficulies in grammar and stucture in both languages, as this is interesting to my students. I realise I have a very specific clientele.

For pronunciation, I exaggerate enormously the position of tongue and teeth etc and let them try to imitate. I listen to them individually and also as a group. I am prepared to use their language in the early stages for this work, although I know this is not possible with multilingual groups and also not the ideal. I point out and value the charm of 'ze' foreign accent of 'ze' French - demonstrate my efforts with a French 'r' acquired at school, therefore much more easily than at 60 years old) but remind them of the need to acquire as accurate an accent as possible so that they are undestood.

Sarah, Spain
I think the earlier you teach aspects of pronunciation, the better. If the student is not corrected early on then mistakes become hard habits to break. I sometimes tell the student where to put their tongue, lips and teeth in order to make a certain sound. Using a mirror sometimes helps because they can see for themselves the shape of their mouth in comparison to yours. I find ryhming words useful as it gives the student practice in sounds. Some things are just experience, e.g. pronouncing ´crooked´ and ´looked´ - reading helps develop this.
Also, search the internet for ´pronunciation´ and ´articulation´ and see if there´s anything helpful. Someone is bound to have written a book about it.
Good luck.

Carlos Díaz, Colombia
Hey Harley, I do believe it is important to describe GENERAL aspects students need to keep in mind when producing sounds. By general I mean we need to give them clues to produce sounds and compare them to those they have in their mother tongue. As the other teachers have said, choral and individual repetition works very well. Grouping sounds also gives students great input; for example the first sound in Sheep and Cheap. Something I have been trying recently is to have them focus their attention in native speakers' mouth as they speak. That's the way we all learned to produce sounds in our mother tongue and it has helped my students a lot. To end, I would say the best way to teach articulation and pronunciation is by making fun of it. Exaggerating and making faces helps them remember a lot how to articulate properly.

Hoshang Farooq, Iraq
Hello Harley! I do agree with some of the commentators that there is no need for teaching place and manners of articulation since they are more of theoretical use and better restricted to university level. From my expeerience, I have been relatively successful in teaching my Kurdish learners many English phonemes that do not have parallels in Kurdish. This has been achieved by working with small groups of students as well as continued practice. I remember some of my students pronounced "this" as /zis/, or "thought" as /sot/ as the two intial sounds do not exist in Kurdish. Without telling them how these sounds are articulated or what their articulators are, but reminding them to make the sounds and continung practice, they have come to pronunce them in the right manner.