English Sounds - L [l] Consonant - How to make the L [l] Consonant

[@evermorevictorious2742]

The British dark L is a vocalised L. That means the L has become a vowel. The dark L is in 3 forms: 1. "a schwa followed by a /u/", as in "vowel", "mail"; 2. a /u/, as in "bull"; or 3. a /o/, as in "doll". (For 2 & 3, the vocalised dark L is turned into a vowel similar to the preceding vowel, usually pronounced without lip rounding.) For the dark L, the tongue tip doesn't touch the alveolar ridge. If it does, it is not a dark L but a light L. For the light L, the tongue tip touches the alveolar ridge.

[@Gene0723]

I improved my pronunciation by listening to your videos. These videos are so insightful. Thank you.

[@rachelsenglish]

My pleasure Gene!

[@ngunghuong6938]

Thank you so much. The dark L always gives me a headache until I watch this video of yours incorporating with one of Pronunciation Workshop of Mr. Paul.

[@wesperes]

I could give hundreds of likes! I always thought the dark /l/ sound was much more difficult than this. Thank you so much!!!

[@rachelsenglish]

My pleasure Wes!

[@ronaldoferreiraoliveira]

For me the teacher rachel and the best teacher of engles l really like the way she teaches the language

[@ingridmarianarodriguez8539]

Thanks a lot sweet teacher. I've been watching old videos which were uploaded 11 or 12 years ago and you looked really really beautiful however you look more amazing than many years ago. You're gifted to teach this marvelous language ❤❤❤❤😘 Please keep the great job up

[@rachelsenglish]

I appreciate it @ingridmarianarodriguez8539!

[@yujiao5780]

Thank you so, so much, Rachel! My problems with the 'L' finally got solved by following your instruction!!! Hearty appreciation!

[@temporaryonesix]

I was practicing the techniques for 5 minutes before I remembered I'm a native English speaker.

[@jeremywhite6971]

temporaryonesix it is fun isn’t it

[@giadinhotieu]

I have practices countless times. I couldnt remember how many times to watch this tutorial. It's so tough for me to pronounce dark "l" especially the word Walnut.

[@ayoubbouss5294]

Hhhh funny could we practice

[@ehtishamkhan4184]

you got great privilege man.. give me your tongue

[@neoomega9811]

How about your tip ???

[@longjamranjit1682]

Dear teacher,because of your teaching style I can improve English pronunciation and intonation. 'L' light and dark even though a little bit hard I can manage. Thanks a lot ma'am.

[@rachelsenglish]

You're welcome!

[@jiangyuanbo1279]

I was watching gruber's video on pronunciation and was confused on how to pronounce L. This video helped me so much. You two are all amazing!

[@rachelsenglish]

Glad to hear that Jiang! :)

[@laelahalaalah1]

Thank you is not enough....You deserve more than that.

[@HoaNguyen-vy6ef]

Thank you so much for your video. I used to struggle with the dark L but not anymore after this video :)

[@rachelsenglish]

Happy to hear that Hoa!

[@MahmoodSuhail]

The British light L is a lot clearer which makes it recognizable!

[@tobiasariastoya1485]

Very good L sound in American English

[@ggsddu764]

Rachel, you're the best English teacher.

[@rachelsenglish]

Thank you!

[@gdm649]

Rachel's English Activate the *portuguese subtitles* in the videos, please!

[@vidallopez3576]

Thanks teacher! It was more difficult for me to see the class at normal speed but I dropped it to 1.75 and it sounds very good. Greetings from Chiapas, Mexico. 🇲🇽

[@rachelsenglish]

You're welcome Vidal!

[@eduarditomedinaespana2348]

This sound is really difficult,But I have to practice it 😃 Thank you Rachel

[@rachelsenglish]

You're welcome!

[@sunglee3935]

It’s easier if you think about back of the roof of mouth pressing down on the back of the tongue sort of like mouth closing at the back inside the mouth

[@karazahe]

Thank you for all the lessons I'm an Arab girl and benefited a lot

[@phuongthanhnguyen4003]

thanks

[@rachelsenglish]

You're welcome!

[@javiersistemas]

My dear Teacher Rachel ... :-) I love the Rachel's Academy English and these pronunciation vídeos. My English level improved a lot in only few months. Thanks for your help, Teacher :-) All the best for you and your family :-) Javier.- Venezuela.

[@hanhtruong4763]

Thank you so much, Rachel! Your videos help me so much in my pronuonciation!

[@rachelsenglish]

You're very welcome @hanhtruong4763!

[@albertmo4865]

Thank you for this lesson! Chinese and Japanese speaking people tend to have a lot of problems with "L". Keep up the great work! Albert

[@rachelsenglish]

Thanks Albert!

[@sumiko1406]

Thank you so much. None of my teachers has taught us this correctly.😅

[@rachelsenglish]

You're welcome Sumi!

[@Boophan43]

I love this lesson. Thank you very much, Madam

[@rachelsenglish]

You're very welcome @EdwardCarter43!

[@aboriginalpeopleofindia5299]

You are a great teacher. I love you mam.

[@MrSkribanto]

I was taught by an American teacher that pronounced a dark l in all the positions, initial and final, so I learnt to do the same. Nobody has told me it is wrong to do it so, so I think it is ok.

[@nature5077]

rachel's the sound that comes first is the schwa and then the dark l and these become a single sound it is true

[@abdrahmanomr4859]

wonderful .... that is my best way to pronunciation practice

[@gsisbg3604]

You , awesome! Changing the world 🌍

[@anastasiak125]

Thank you. Your video helped me a lot.

[@rachelsenglish]

Happy to hear that Anastasia!

[@wsrhodes]

An excellent video! I wish, however, that you had included some word "pairs" that contain both sounds, to show how both sounds can be within one word. For example, "bell"..."bellow"; "tall"...."tallow"; "ball"..."balloon" (yes...the vowel sound may change!).

[@Muzikman127]

gerunds are great for this, and the vowel usually (or maybe always?) stays the same: tell>telling mill>milling control>controlling call>calling

[@saeidcyppp6293]

hi rachel please make another video about dark L and teach us how it pronounces when it gets ing or some situation that is impossible to say it and it has to switch to the light L .I'm very confused about it.thank you so much

[@rachelsenglish]

You're welcome Saeid!

[@medohany5414]

Thanks a lot. Solved my dark L problem.

[@rachelsenglish]

You're welcome Medo!

[@dabnysenglish110]

I Learned with you! Thank you!

[@rachelsenglish]

Glad to hear that Dabny!

[@mdfaizan2537]

I understood.. thanks.. Hello Madam ...hope you are enjoying yourself......😊😊😊

[@rachelsenglish]

Yes, thank you!

[@RachelDavis705]

I don't know how I got here, but I never thought about where my tongue is to make the sounds I make when I speak America English. Maybe understanding this mechanism would help me get better at speaking Spanish.

[@muhammadshata2843]

I follow all your lessons Thanks

[@이운하-n7p]

This means a lot to me . I really appreciate your videos. always🥰

[@rachelsenglish]

Thanks @user-dx2wz9tt8i!

[@eswaravinash72]

Thanks for this wonderful lesson. It helped me understand the dark L sound much better. But I am having a great difficulty in pronouncing "coastal area" with the proper dark L sound followed by "err" sound (in area). I would be grateful if you could make a video on pronouncing a sentence ending with "... coastal area"

[@flaviocavalcanti6793]

In this video I think I achieve this sound, it is very slightl and soft, I know that's funny but I tried It in front the mirror and It worked, after I've watched this video several times, repetition works thank you for caring for the improvement of the others.

[@rachelsenglish]

That's great to hear Flavio! Keep it up!

[@kubilaygul8035]

You are the best I am grateful for your helps. I am following you lessons and I like their. Your lessons are very helpful. Thanks a lot again....

[@vietchanchinh]

This is a very helpful lesson about pronouncing L in English. People of most countries in the world pronounce incorrectly letter L, even their English teachers! Ex: They pronounce "School" as "schoonl", "girl" as "girnl", "Bell" as "benl". Totally wrong!

[@makeapparentely984]

Thank you so much Teacher Rachel

[@s-ml8894]

Thanks for all the amazing videos!

[@rachelsenglish]

You're welcome Suya!

[@杨宇鹏-z6s]

good teacher,good job to us

[@justinefirst7458]

杨宇鹏 翻墙吗？老哥

[@khangntn731]

Thank you, rachel

[@loveandpain001]

Thank you teacher

[@rachelsenglish]

You are welcome!

[@nicolasozoria6354]

Muy buenos videos, quizá sea difícil pero me gustaría que las explicaciones de los videos estuvieran subtitulado al español

[@user-lf2zh3mo5l]

Should the tongue of this l sound when touching the alveolar ridge be thin? Is it the right way to make its sound? Do linguists agreed with that (right way)? If not so, why did you say it is not the same as the t or d or n sound?

[@rachelsenglish]

I think that is a good way to describe the tongue, 'thin'. The tongue tip just touches the ridge very lightly for the L. For the N, the front of the tongue seals off the mouth so air travels through the nose, and for the D and T, the tongue tip touches a similar spot but you stop the airflow for a moment and release the air - so those are the differences between those sounds! They are close as far as the position of the tip of the tongue, but those slight differences create the different sounds.

[@laurierose1503]

Great video. Do you do any training for speech and language pathologists?

[@rachelsenglish]

Hi! Please reach out to [e-mail] with this question! Thanks!

[@robsonesteves9834]

Excellents videos. I have to learn a lot your videos. Congratulation.

[@rachelsenglish]

Thanks a lot!

[@DF-oz9yu]

Hi, I’m Daniel and I have a video request. Will you teach us how to pronounce the “ol” sounds? hold cold bold mold roll stroll

[@rachelsenglish]

Thanks for the suggestion!

[@danielvejar1]

Hi Rache, thanks a lot for all of your videos, I've been able to improve a lot lately thanks to them. I have a hard time telling apart the "ch" and "j" sounds when they are at the end of word, e.g. the words "etch" and "edge".. It would be very useful for me if you made a video on this. Regards from Venezuela =)

[@lucindaferris6699]

I will see you

Thanks for another great video Rachel

[@kwanjaff1107]

Thx Rachel,l have learned more sounds l don't know.

[@pksharma214]

Good after noon mam 🙏 Mam, white colour is tongue and upper red colour is upper jaw and lower red colour is lower jaw?? Is it so?? And what is below lower lip in white colour ?? Please reply because I am confused

[@cathy9566]

Would you make L and I together sound? Every time Li together I make Ni sound. Thanks

[@rachelsenglish]

Thanks for this suggestion! You may want to check out my specific videos on the L and the N consonants. Here are some links: N: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fpawq515a5xlhaM L: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fIGTm3uEpKukjdE

[@shahinnaji9814]

Wonderful! Hi Rachel. Please, what about the l sound just between two vowels? For instance "delight". Is it light or dark? I ln this case I feel that the next "I" has more melodical relevance than the previous "e". So it should be light. But what happens usually in such a situation please? Thanks. Sha.

[@josecontreras7153]

Rachel's English Great lesson!!! The light L is kind of easy, but the dark one is really hard to make it! I don't hear any "L" sound!!! By the way in the word "love" I hear "loouvvf" am I right? Thank you for your excellent videos!!!

[@yassinabdelrhman5875]

Good explanation

[@hazelnuteeme8936]

Hi Rachel, thanks for your explanation. But I recently found that Americans, most of the time, pronounce the fronted L （should be light L) like "W" sound instead of a clear light L . The dark L sounds the same as W to us, the people speaking Cantonese. So I wonder if Americans also use dark L to pronounce those L in the front of a word.

[@rachelsenglish]

Great questions! Dark L never begins a word; it occurs only at the end of a word or syllable. This is a lesson for W: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iIicZX9sa5Vpeqc and this is another video on Dark L that I think will be helpful in distinguishing it from OH and W: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iZrbp4aNnbZqjcU.

[@evermorevictorious2742]

Light L: the tongue tip touches the alveolar ridge. Dark L: the tongue tip doesn't touch the alveolar ridge.

[@user-lf2zh3mo5l]

Could the blade of the tongue touches the alveolar ridge or it just the tip?

[@유튜브시청-o7n]

I have a problem when I speak R-L combo, for example, 'world',' 'after lunch',etc. How does tongue bend and unfold straight back so fast? Should L after R touch top of just back of upper front teeah exactly by the book?

[@rachelsenglish]

Hi! This can be very challenging. First of all, you don't need to make the tongue move quite as quickly as you describe. In fact, the movement of the tongue from the R to the L in the words/phrases you describe is part of the sound. Allow the tongue to move into the R sound and then unfurl into the L sound. Allow the tongue to move flexibly, not with tension. Think of the tongue as soft as it moves, this may help you find a more relaxed quality to the movement. This takes time!

[@blackfish9274]

You're amazing! Thanks

[@hongquandthc]

That is so great to me. Can I have question? Sorry but the L in Valley is L dark or L light? I just understand the L light sound is usually beginning of sounds and L dark is ending of sounds. Am i wrong? Or the L light sound is always L which got stressed, and the rest is L dark? Please help me to be understood.

[@rachelsenglish]

Hi! I think your second description is the most accurate! So, in 'valley' - I would describe this as a Dark L that gets "finished" by touching the tongue tip to the roof of the mouth as it moves into the final syllable.

[@hongquandthc]

@@rachelsenglish Thanks, I've seen all your video. They're very helpful to me.

[@waterriver3441]

hi Rachel,I just Canot speak the Word [ little ] well, could you please teach this word?

[@rachelsenglish]

I have a video for you! This is a very hard word!! kzbin.info/www/bejne/eX7JeIGbj6qEh9E

[@junyanagisawa5603]

Hi Rachel, can you make a video of pronunciation of Launch and Lunch? I have been having a hard time pronouncing it. Thank you.

[@salwanalmansury2562]

Excellent job, please keep on you did a unique lesson on youtube and you have a great way to teach, Could you please help me to differentiate and pronounce correctly the following words Bitter , butter and better

[@ramzy-6566]

great video

[@congthai5477]

2:38 3:04 3:15 3:42

[@muhammadisaac07]

Thanks miss

[@rachelsenglish]

My pleasure @muhammadisaac07!

[@zwwz3780]

What about when I'm trying to link an L with a vowel from another word such as: "Feel a" or "Call another" Is it a dark L or a light L in this case? Thanks for your videos

[@alshabbirogma7999]

thank u so much this what I've been looking for

[@glendasworld4125]

By roof of the mouth, does she mean the part where the roof is flat and at the center, or the part where the roof looks like a negative slope and is at the front?

[@long462]

Perfect .

[@rachelsenglish]

Thanks @long462!

[@CloverReading4Kids]

it's very useful. thanks a lot!

[@rachelsenglish]

My pleasure Clover!

[@seanma5123]

Hi, Thank you for your video and it helped a lot! I still have issue with the light L sound even with the correct tongue position (behind the upper teeth). It sounds the same as if I don't work with my tongue (have the tongue resting at the bottom) for instance of la, it sounds like a "nla", a mixture of na and la.

[@madaaz6333]

Shared Rachel! Very good!

[@yacchan7722]

4:05 Exceptions of Dark L

[@lethiquyen4379]

when to use dark and when to use light? I'm really bad but i want to better lol

[@rachelsenglish]

Basically you want to use the Dark L when it comes at the end of a syllable. If the L begins a syllable (particularly a stressed syllable) it will be Light!

[@lethiquyen4379]

@@rachelsenglish tk u so much!!! best teacher!!

[@sridhivyajaikumar4416]

Thanks a lot 🎉🎉👍🏼👍🏼

[@rachelsenglish]

You're welcome Sridhivya! 😊

[@feihan936]

Hi Rachel. When you mention that the back of the tongue presses down or shifts back. Is that means the back or root of the tougue could just press down to pronounce the dark L sound right? Because you say the back part of the tongue presses down or shitfs back, which means we just need to choose one way to pronunce it right?

[@rachelsenglish]

Yes, you have the basic idea. The exact movement of the tongue will depend on where the tongue is for the sound right before the Dark L, but you will feel the sound from the root of the tongue in the throat.

[@LearnEnglishByCartoon]

thank you I'm learning with your videos thanks for share!! I'm happy with this channel...

[@greenanthony5821]

As for the two different ways of light L, choosing either one is ok or choosing different one in different words? I can only use use tongue tip coming through the teeth. Is that ok? Many thanks!

[@rachelsenglish]

As long as you can make the sound, that is the important part - whichever way works for you is great! :)

[@greenanthony5821]

@@rachelsenglish I get it. Thank you!

[@OscarTartalo]

thank you so much

[@souhi1027]

finally i made it!😍

[@rachelsenglish]

Great!

[@noahelekhtra9456]

Hello, it is best guide for me how to pronounce words in American English, but if you could also make a video about words with -tion, e.g. Station I found it really hard - maybe not everyone have this problem :/ Thank you for the videos, keep up the good work :)

[@Chesscat2022]

Excellent!

[@cleidecarvalho1881]

The video is good, very good. Thanks, teacher.

[@isaaccarrero5232]

Good

[@rachelsenglish]

Thanks!

[@anuptiwari6936]

Hello, my pronunciation is not correct. When I pronounce L sound then I realised that I pronounce N sound. I practiced in one month but I feel that I am not pronounce correctly. Please help me.

[@rachelsenglish]

Hi Anup - finding improvement is all about trying to keep up consistent practice - it is less important to do a LOT of practicing, it's more important to just do a little bit everyday.

[@CP-nc6fw]

Thanks for dark-L

[@rachelsenglish]

You're welcome!

[@CP-nc6fw]

@@rachelsenglish Question: I guess pulling might be Light L. How about holding? Is this Dark L or Light L??

[@mona6221]

Aaahhhh, ur video’s awesome but that’s too hard for me...😭 I lost my confidence about my English pronunciation! I have no idea what my tongue’s doing... The more I practice the more I get confused 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@EnglishBMTCity]

I have a question: When we make only the first part of the dark L sound and the next word begins with a vowel, so we can't link the L sound to the next word, right???

[@yuanxiangqi2519]

This has puzzled me for many years, I can’t the difference between dark l and the vowel sound /o/.

[@englishwithmoha8115]

It's difficult the L Dark 💔😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[@MarlonCobain]

Just place the back of your tongue down and that's it!

[@giadinhotieu]

@@MarlonCobain Too harrrddddd

[@rotlata01]

You are great

[@rachelsenglish]

Thank you!

[@hakdo1641]

Now i understand the L L

[@danhlemba]

Thank you for your videos

[@andrewfletcher1341]

FinaL is a dark L but when its finally ,dark L or light L ,explain to me with details thanks