Learning Pronunciation - Then and Now

The first three Exercises of the book Companion Reader To Arden's Telugu Grammar published in 1879 are only about pronunciation. 

Arden writes, "...the Author's great desire is to impress upon the Student the supreme importance of thoroughly mastering whatever is read...

It is not too much to say that the great bulk of foreigners pronounce these letters incorrectly. The reason often is that the Native Munshi takes it for granted that a foreigner cannot master them, and therefore he does not use sufficient care to point out the exact pronunciation, or to explain how that pronunciation can be effected by the vocal organs."

Using the limited printing capabilities available in 1879, the author tries to illustrate how various parts of the mouth have to be used to pronounce certain words & letters. 

From the text of the book - The figure 1 marks the place where the upper side of the tip of the tongue strikes against the roof of the mouth, in pronouncing the English letters Z, n, d, t, and the Telugu letters ల, న.

Now after some fourteen decades, if you need help in understanding how to articulate a specific word with proper mouth movements, Google can provide an animated demonstration.

Type something like "pronunciation dull" and Google will provide the British and American pronunciation along with an animation.