How to Pronounce l

This pronunciation lesson is designed for 3-6-year-old children to help them pronounce the letter ‘l’ correctly using its phonic sound.

Learning phonic sounds is important for children as this helps them to learn how to read. This is the first step in learning spelling and vocabulary.

In our previous video lesson, we learned about phonics, the importance of learning phonics, and the phonic sound from the letter ‘k’. This video lesson is the 12th in a row of learning the sound of letters. 

 Why is it Important to Learn Letter Sounds Through Phonics?

Phonics teaches children how to decipher letters into their sounds. This is an essential skill to read unfamiliar words on their own. 

Even though young children know some words, most of them are unfamiliar to them. With the knowledge of letters and sounds, children can make connections between their knowledge of unknown printed words and spoken words. 

Another aspect that is rarely discussed is that the decoding of letters and sounds is itself a learning mechanism. For example, notice how you feel when you read these words: 

 The argument, calendar, column, definitely, embarrass, discipline – when the child first read these words, then they probably used the letter-sound knowledge, and this involves important processing stages – a) producing the correct sound and b) details and combinations of letters. 

The first step in producing the correct sound is the pronunciation of letters, and then we learn how these letters change their sound when combined to form a word. In this video, we learn the sound of one of the English alphabet letters i.e. e

How to Pronounce the ‘l’ Sound?

The Phoneme ‘l’ produces /l/ sound and is called the “alveolar lateral approximant.” This means when we put our tongue against our upper teeth, we push the surrounding air.

The /l/ sound is made through the mouth using the vocal cords, and it is defined by the motion of the tongue. It is called an approximant because it makes a sound made by creating a narrow space in the mouth through which air flows. Thus, making the space between the tongue and the sides of the mouth.

To produce the l sound, press just the tip of your tongue against the back of your upper teeth and voice out through your mouth. 

• Soft /l/ sound

The letter ‘l’ produces a soft /l/ sound when it comes before a vowel or a diphthong in the syllable. For example: later, lab, lake, list, leader, etc. Children at an early age are introduced to the soft /l/ sound, as it is easy to learn.

Let’s practice saying /l/-/l/-/l/ repeatedly.

• Hard /l/ sound

The letter ‘l’ produces a hard /l/ sound when it comes after a vowel or a diphthong in a syllable. For example, call, mall, tell, control, school, roll, etc.  

To produce a hard /l/ sound, there is a tense vibration in the throat. The tip of the tongue rises and moves forward to touch behind the front teeth, while the back of the tongue remains deep and curves slightly in the mouth. You will feel more tension in your throat than the soft ‘l’. 

 How to Introduce the Pronunciation of the ‘l’ to the Child?

1. Invite the child to the table and tell them, today we are going to learn the sound of the letter ‘l’ produces.
2. Show the child what the letter ‘l’ looks like and the sound of the letter ‘l’.
3. Say it several times by producing the /luh/ sound as shown in the video.
4. Ask the child to repeat the sound after you.
5. Show the child a picture or miniature of words starting with ‘l’ such as a lamp. 
6. Repeat the sound of the letter l every time while showing the image of the lamp. 
7. Now show another picture and again produce the letter ‘l’ sound.
8. Ask the child to pronounce the letter ‘l’ and practice it.

 Other Activities to Introduce the Phonic Sound of ‘l’ to the Child

1.  Coloring activities are fun for toddlers. They not only introduce colors to the kids but also develop better fine motor skills in the children. An outline picture of a lion, lotus, or ladybug can be given to the children wherein they would color with the respective color. Let the sound of the letter l’ as they color–l–lion, l-lotus, l-ladybug.
2. Making a lemonade would be fun and a healthy drink. Allow the child to squeeze a lemon in water and mix along sounding ‘l’ as they stir the juice.
3.  A walk in the garden and introducing various leaves and their structure to the child will help them understand the difference between leaves and let them collect fallen leaves. Each time they collect a leaf they should pronounce the ‘l’ sound loudly.
4.  Putting laces in the shoe can learn for the child. Let the child put the lace in his shoes with the sound ‘l’

This video allows the child to explore the short consonant sound of the English letter ‘L’ and learn words starting with it, such as lion, ladybug, lid, lizard, and lock. 

Watch the video to learn how the sounds of the letter ‘i’ are repeated for each word so that the child can hear and pronounce the words accurately.

Related Pronunciation Videos:

1. Pronunciation of the letter ‘j’
2. Pronunciation of the letter ‘g’
3. Pronunciation of the letter ‘e’
4. Pronunciation of the letter ‘m’

For more pronunciation and English language resources, click here. 

Video created by: Strykun Olena