How To Teach The L Sound
To make the /l/ sound bring the tip of the tongue up against the bumpy ridge behind the teeth. Turn your voice on as you let the air flow out around the sides of the tongue.
At What Age Should a Child Say the L Sound?
Most English speaking children can say the L sound around age 4.*
What is the Difference Between l and /l/?
The written symbols, L and l, refer to the name of the letter “l”. When you see the l between diagonal lines, /l/, that refers to the sound the letter makes, /l/.
L is a letter name.
/l/ is the sound it makes.
How Do You Practice the L Sound?
It depends.
Understanding why your child is having difficulty making this sound is important. A speech therapist can do an evaluation to make a diagnosis. What words you choose and activities will vary depending on the cause.
Click here to read more about types of speech sound disorders and treatment
Initial L Word List
ladder
ladybug
lake
lamp
large
last
late
laugh
leader
leaf
learn
leaves
left
leg
lemon
lemonade
less
letter
lettuce
library
lick
light
like
lime
line
lion
lips
listen
lizard
load
lock
log
long
look
lost
loud
love
low
luck
lunch
Medial L Word List
alarm
alike
alligator
alone
aloud
ambulance
ballet
balloon
belly
bowling
calendar
caterpillar
celery
color
dollar
elbow
elephant
eleven
envelop
family
feeling
follow
gorilla
helicopter
hello
jelly
jelly beans
melon
necklace
pillow
pilot
polar bear
salad
silly
umbrella
yellow
Final L Word List
all
ball
baseball
basketball
bell
bowl
call
cool
doll
fall
feel
football
owl
pail
pencil
pool
roll
school
smell
smile
stool
tall
tool
towel
wall
whale
yell
Activity Ideas for Practicing the L Sound
Practice Common Words
Write down a list of words with L that your child uses. Think of as many things (nouns), actions (verbs), and descriptive words (adjectives) as you can.
Nouns: leg, leaf, lion…
Verbs: love, lift, roll…
Adjectives: yellow, tall, cool…
Games and Toys
Look for games and toys that include a lot of L words.
Kick or throw a ball back and forth
Build with Legos and blocks
Books
Find books that have L words in them.
Think about characters, places, and objects (nouns)
What G action words does it have?
Does the book use descriptive words (adjectives with L words?)
Make your own L word book!
Speech Therapy Materials
Check out the resources on the right side of the page for ideas.
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* Resource
McLeod, S. & Crowe, K. (2018). Children’s consonant acquisition in 27 languages: A cross-linguistic review. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. doi:10.1044/2018_AJSLP-17-0100. Available from: https://ajslp.pubs.asha.org/article.aspx?articleid=2701897
