The next two consonant sounds are /l/
as in 'low' and /r/ as in 'row'. These
two consonant sounds cause some speakers of English many many problems because
sometimes these sounds don't appear in
other languages, so it's difficult for
some people to produce the sounds. Or in
some languages these sounds are very
similar, they're like the same sound. So
we have to know how to distinguish
between the two in English and I'll show
you exactly how to do that right now.
The first sound /l/ low /l/. The first
thing you need to notice is the shape of
the mouth /l/ /l/. The lips are in a neutral position. Not
pushed out, not rounded, not too wide, just neutral. /l/ low /l/ /l/. The second
thing you need to know is the position
of the tongue. This is key. So when you
pronounce the /l/ sound, the tongue is
just behind your front teeth. It's
behind the front teeth touching the top
of the mouth. So I'd like you to
make the sound and feel your tongue in
your mouth touching the back of your
front teeth.
/l/ /l/. So it should be not touching your
teeth, just above your teeth, at the
top of your mouth. /l/ low /l/. Very good. And this is also
a voiced sound, so you're using your
voice to make the sound. Now
let's move on to the second sound /r/ row /r/
This is also voiced, so these are
both voiced sounds, but there's a big
difference with the second sound /r/
as in row. The shape of the mouth is the
first big difference. Look at my mouth
/r/ /r/ the mouth is not rounded but
the lips are pushed out from the mouth.
/r/ /r/ and the
position of the tongue is also very
different. The tongue is not near the
back of your teeth like the first sound.
The tongue should be curled back like my
finger. So it's curled back inside
your mouth and then you're pushing the
air through the sides of your tongue.
Feel your position of your
tongue when you're making the sound.
/r/ /r/ row /r/ the tongue
should be curled up like this,
at the back of the mouth /r/ row. So
remember the first sound, the mouth
neutral position, the tongue towards the back of the teeth, and the
second sound /r/ the lips pushed out
and the tongue curled back /r/. So low
row. Those are the big differences
between the two sounds. Now let's start
with the target sound practice for /l/ low /l/. Look at these words and repeat them
after me focusing on the shape of your
mouth and the position of your tongue.
Remember position your tongue just above the back of your teeth. Let's start.
Lie. Long. Silent. Slow. Collect. Calendar.
Brazil. Beautiful. Gentleman.
OK, well done. Remember, take your time
with these sounds. If you like, go back
and practice again focusing on the shape
of your mouth and the position of your
tongue. Now let's move to the second
sound target practice. This sound
/r/ remember the lip shape /r/ the
lips are pushed out and the tongue is
curled back further. The tongue goes much further back with
this sound. The tongue is like this
shape in your mouth. If you can
imagine the shape of your tongue it goes
back like this.
Let's start. Repeat after me again. Rain. Write. Road. Fry.
Grass. Pretty. Europe. Restaurant.
Australia. Now I hope you can start to
feel the difference between the two
sounds. Let's look at the minimal pairs. This should make everything much
much clearer for you. Look at the list.
On the left we have the /l/ sound and on
the right we have the /r/ sound. Don't
forget the shape of your mouth and the
position of your tongue when you utter
these words. Focus on the sound. Listen
and repeat. Long, wrong. Clay, pray. Lay, ray.
Fly, fry.
Glow, grow. Pilot, pirate. I hope you
can really hear the difference between
those two sounds now and I hope you can
produce some difference in the two
sounds as well. Let's move on to the
target sounds in use. Let's look at these
sentences concentrating on each target
sound. Sentence one we're looking at
is the /l/ sound target. Listen and repeat.
Linda likes Alan but Alan loves another
lady. And sentence two. Ryan enjoys
writing scary stories for friends.
Excellent. Now sentence three, a mix of
the two sounds.
Lots of people visit Paris to see the
Eiffel Tower. It's a romantic and
relaxing place.
As always, make sure you download the extra resources that I provide
and make sure you look at the video where I really show you
how to shape your mouth. There's a video of me close up. You'll see the position
of my lips and the way I make the sound. Focus on this video if you're having any trouble with these sounds.