Haptic squirrel pronunciation

Clip art: Clker

You may have seen some of the Youtube "X can't pronounce Y" videos or "British." A couple others: German and Farsi. There are more, all (mostly) funny and homemade. Here, in brief, is a haptic protocol for "squirrel:"

a. Go to Starbucks. Get a coffee and then walk off with some coffee stirs. (Enough for your class.)
b. Have learners break one in half.
c. With the jagged end, scrape the sides of the tongue, as far back in the mouth as possible.
d. Jab the outsides of both cheeks at about the same place as the back of the tongue.
e. Scrape the tip of the tongue (or to be precise the tip of the blade of the tongue, on the "end" exactly!)
f. Scrape the place just behind the gap between the upper front middle teeth. (frontal alveolar ridge)
Now . . .
g. Say "s" and keep it going . .
h. Bite back of tongue on spots scraped in "c" as you say "kuir" (kwer)
i. Touch tip of tongue (e) with area behind teeth (f) as you say 'l'
j. Say that sequence quickly a few times, throwing a tennis ball on "kuir" across the room as you do.

Armost nevel fairs . . .
Practice that yourself a few times so that it "sticks" and then squirrel it away, eh!