The L in American English - How to get it right! | Dark L | Light L

[@hadar.shemesh]

Watch, learn, practice, make it your OWN! To download a FREE practice & audio go here: bit.ly/4bOa0V6

[@Gutoknust]

I found your channel today and I'm so in love with your content. I've taught English in Brazil for about 18 years and I gotta tell you, darn, I wish we had access to content like yours when I was a student myself. Having learned English in Brazil and not being able to afford traveling and studying abroad, I had to make do with what we had available: books, tapes/CDs, VHS. And that was it! Ah, and we had to be lucky enough to have teachers who'd be able to speak English with proper pronunciation and grammar ‐ believe me, even today it is kind of hard to find. I took a course in English phonetics and phonology back in 91 - I was already teaching - and was lucky to have an American teacher. She'd come to Brazil to study how we learned English sounds (the object of her thesis, back in the US) and I have to say I owe her a great deal. All you're talking about here, I heard and learned from her, but I was privileged! Now, you bring this to anyone watching your channel and you do a great job. Students nowadays have NO IDEA what it was like to study a foreign language back in the 80s and 90s. All the best and regards from Rio.

[@EsperantoVarietyShow]

I'm a native English speaker (and language tutor) - and I've got to say, this is the clearest presentation on the light and dark L sounds that I recall seeing. I came looking for a video like this to try to get a handle on this forgotten detail of avoiding an American accent while speaking other languages. I found your video very helpful. These are things I do without speaking. The part about substitutions was especially helpful. Thank you.

[@hadar.shemesh]

Hey! Thank you for your kind words. I’m so happy to know that!

[@s5fam144]

@@hadar.shemesh TN mlllllllllllllllllllllppolop9o

[@tricky_english]

There is only one Ll sound

[@llamallama1509]

Been speaking English my entire life, and I'd never noticed I was saying two different L's

[@Francis_UD]

YOLO! Haha

[@jungsangyoon8793]

Mother tangue !!!! Jealous

[@Userkvlnk]

Same....

[@tricky_english]

There is only one Ll sound in English. This information just confuses people

[@EasyENGLISHwithJames]

This is perhaps the best explanation I've heard for the Light "L" vs Dark "L". I love that you added little details like the 'w' sound found between vowels in coo(w) poo(w)l. It's not something that is often taught but it's super important for correct pronunciation.

[@tricky_english]

There is only one Ll sound

[@dgbastoss1]

I think Hadar and Rachel are the best teachers when you wanna learn about pronunciation issues. thanks a lot, and I want you to know you are helping me a lot, I do appreciate. :)

[@hadar.shemesh]

Thank you! And I love Rachel too!!

[@henrythebrain6527]

yeah you right

[@ivopires4145]

Yea, I agree with you. I livr they both

[@liukezhao]

Can't agree more, two thumbs up. it ever crossed my mind that, are they the same person. especially for this Dark L, they said and pronounced exactly the same!!

[@wan-yihuang5812]

Totally agree with you!!!

[@jesusmedinasifontes8218]

I will never stop thanking God for letting me find you! You're my heroine. You don't imagine how your video lessons have helped me. I'm a Spanish teacher from Venezuela and because you are not a native speaker, you can explain these difficult phonetic topics perfectly. Thank you, Hadar. God bless you and keep it up!

[@hadar.shemesh]

You made me so happy with your message. Thank you ♥️

[@Aboli_20]

Same

[@hadar.shemesh]

Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed the lesson! And yes I know I have a typo at the beginning of the video 🤦🏻‍♀️🤷🏽‍♀️😅

[@sunglee3935]

The easiest way to think about dark l is closing and pressing down the roof of mouth at the back toward the back of the tongue. That's easier than trying to raise the tongue. I watched a lot of videos on the youtube about dark l and came back to this video and I finally figured out an easy way to say it.

[@julio8574]

Toda Raba for the video!

[@issayasmedhane6709]

Tnx teacher for sharing this lesson I get difficulty to pronounce like every words

[@davidrock65]

The table is big. Dark L at the end of table , but when u say the sentence , there’s a linking sound between table and is. The dark L becomes a light L, why?

[@isigrisa5830]

Excellent!!’ How do you say.... table, people... ? Un saludo enorme!!!!...

[@spinachmao]

From China, been in the US for almost half of my life; had been making common mistake #2 (e.g. saying "hoe" rather than "hole") without being aware of it until recently, because my first English teachers made the mistake as well (and they probably were unaware of it). Now I know where the problem is and how to correct it. Thanks for the video!

[@johnyruiz9787]

I knew that the L sound in English is different than the L in other languages, but nobody, even any English teachers that I've had, they don't teach anything about English phonetics, not to mention the L sound, so learn English only with the traditional education system and master it is impossible, but thanks to the videos in the internet I can learn English better, that includes this video, so thank you very much for your helpful work and keep it up

[@pauribes9119]

I am a catalan, and we also make this sound when we speak in catalan. In the same positions, the light L and the dark L.

[@antonioantonio5950]

i,am from sri lankan.i watch your video lesson every day and i practice r sound every time.i hard to pronounce R and L but i know how to pronounce R and L.I was speaking broken english but now i know how to speak in english fluenly.god bless to you.......

[@monicabastosleite8181]

Hi Hadar, I´m from Brazil. You are the best teacher.

[@janjamesramos247]

This is excellent and so helpful for Filipinos like me... we usually say the light and ultra light L...

[@stevenvillamizar2121]

I´m from Colombia, and the L Dark sound has been difficult to do for me, I feel that this video has helped me so much, thanks

[@gracehu4692]

From China, had difficulty with “world” . Thank you so much

[@alexxman100]

Hi Hadar! I´m from Mexico, and I am an English teacher too. If I have to pick out one American pronunciation coach, this must be YOU! Ypour explanations are crystal clear, and you are a beautiful woman to stare at!!

[@Muzikman127]

probably best to say "look at" mate, if you don't want to sound creepy haha

[@mauriceotiskouton1723]

Hadar, you are a genius, gifted where teaching is concerned. I am Republic of Benin (West). I've discovered the secret of learning English and how to sound native. Thank you so much. To top it off you're making me fall in love with American accent

[@asunciondiezarce1828]

Actually, you’re very good. I think it’s the first time I understand the potition of the tongue with the letter “l”.Thank you so much.

[@hadar.shemesh]

Happy to help!

[@galegate1388]

Hadar is THE BEST! She explains it in great ways. She has an online class which really makes a difference. If you are like me, wandering around for help, buying different courses. Don't waste your time and money just check how you can join an online class with Hadar. It's better than private lessons! And I am not even talking about the money. It's so much more effective!

[@hadar.shemesh]

You feeling the progress is the best gift and the most rewarding part of this work.

[@alejandropunalfreire3231]

Hello I am from Spain. It's very difficult for me the dark L. However you make me feel quite motivate to improve. I am going to practise with your content.

[@tulio7538]

I am a Portuguese speaker and you are entirely correct. I often make the W sound instead of the L sound. After your video, I will get started paying attention on my pronunciation of the words with the dark L. Thanks, Hadar! You are brilliant!

[@jeffjeff1604]

I didn't think I would need this video but after watching it I realized that I was making the light L sound by bouncing my tongue off the bottom of my upper teeth, which causes the light L sound to be a little unclear. Taking care of these small details is what helps mastering the accent.

[@larrytruelove8659]

I have taught Spanish speakers who were trying to say “walk”. The dark “L” was missing in their pronunciation but I told them the vowel quality in “walk” was more important than the “L” since it seems to be highly reduced. And native Spanish can do the dark “L” if the adjacent doesn’t trouble them. So, I told them to concentrate more on the vowel quality in “walk” and the find “k” sound. I recently discovered they were making the “K” too softly, the same thing they were doing with the “NG” in “ING” Lo and behold, they were shocked that I was using the back of my throat more than they were. They could still say “walk” really well even if they ignored the dark “L” The vowel and the “K” were vastly more important than the dark “L” in this situation. It probably only works for some Hispanic speakers. I’m still trying to make sure my advice was sound.

[@rinri27]

Hi Hadar, this video is so easy and clear for the L sound. I’m Japanese and work at healthcare in US. I still struggle with some English names like Julie. People think I call Judi. I understand your concept but don’t know why people think I say D instead of L. I appreciate so much if you can give me any advice. By the way, your 5 days challenging was amazing I caught all up this weekend. You are so inspiring, thank you!!

[@relaunch2809]

this is super hard!! esp the dark L even after years of English studying. The difference between the light and dark L appeared to me the first time today

[@taniahuei]

As a Portuguese and Chinese speaker, dark L is the hardest one. I always have this choking feeling whenever I struggle to pronounce dark L.😬 Heeelp!

[@leilaoo3864]

The teaches is right im Spanish native speaker and we tend to make the light L very strong

[@capitalistche]

I don’t understand how I managed to do it but I realized I have been pronouncing both L’s correctly! I’m Turkish and although light l is pronounced exactly how it is pronounced in turkish, dark l is different yet i’ve been saying it correctly. im surprised and pleased lol

[@zoy.13.]

I am from Iraq and I am a student in the english department and pronouncation it is a beuatiful subject that i want to know more about it. thank you so much

[@pedromalbernaz]

Simply amazing video! I’m a native Portuguese speaker who have noticed a difference when listening to English native speaker pronouncing those two “L” sounds all my life but just wasn’t sure they really were deemed different. You made it 100% clear now. It all makes sense. Thank you so much again. You rock 🤘!!!

[@hadar.shemesh]

Happy to hear!!

[@olvo33nyp0pon]

I used to get a sore throat after speaking English for an extended amount of time, and this video made me realize why! I was hitting those light and dark L's perfectly, but since these phonemes don't exist in Swedish speech, I wasn't very used to engaging my throat in that way and it took a toll on me on the rare occasion that I made friends with an american exchange student in real life and we kept our conversation going for hours on end. 😆 This video is great!!

[@ademar3229]

I'm so happy I can watch your videos. They are so professionals! Thanks for sharing them Hadar.

[@joelmasamba6762]

Oh my gosh!!! Thanks a lot about your great lesson my amazing teacher keep up the great work!!! I Love 💕 you too much coz you brought up level when it comes to speaking English

[@carlosroyero2420]

Ayy me encanta esta mujer, desmenuza todo paso a paso. I love you. You are what I was looking for

[@lilianabarraza6939]

Thanks! saying my name was so complicated, it is not so complicated now thanks to your videos.

[@돌아돌아결국너]

Hi Hadar! I’m learning a lot from your videos. L sound(specially Dark L) is really challenging for Koreans to pronounce. But very thankfully through your help my pronunciation is getting better. Still I need to improve more. Thanks a lot for your encouraging English learners. You are incredible. Actually it’s beyond description.

[@saxophonexsb1407]

I thought I knew well the L in English. The golden nugget for me in this video was the details on L pronunciation that involve certain muscles in the throat. The methods and presentations of your videos are easy to follow. Keep up the good work.

[@muhammadumaralhanbali]

You are the best english teacher on youtube....😊

[@tamlilla]

I always had feeling my L sound is not good enough. Now I know, why. Thenk you!

[@didelnsonga481]

It's been a while that I realized not sounding as well for my L prononciation ... Much gratitude for the above lesson about as I know how to work on it. Thanks, Hadar!

[@thomaschen7685]

Hi, I am a Chinese and I am super fan of Hadar. I think the dark L is very clear to me. I especially like the "swallowing" part. I have little difficulty pronouncing "school, feel, wool cool" etc. But I do find difficulty in words with "ou" and the dark l together, for example, "call", "wall".

[@doanvancolo]

Thank you teacher. Very helpful, and encouraging...

[@henrykhosasih8781]

I'm from Indonesia and now I know how to properly pronounce L. Thanks Hadar!

[@tructruc4369]

Hello Hadar! I'm from Viet Nam before watching your video I supposed to sound the dark L like the light L. but now I get it thank you so much. Your videos are really helpful

[@alejandropunalfreire3231]

I am from Spain. Your videos are really interesting. I love it. I have difficulties with the dark L.

[@BrendaYelting]

You and Rachel complement each other so well....Thank you both for existing hahahaha

[@miraclechai5792]

You made it easy and clearly! I made sense totally.

[@jayjooisland]

Even as a native American English speaker, this is fascinating to listen to! These are sounds I never knew the mechanics of, simply because they’re so natural to me. I never thought of English having different ways of pronouncing consonants, but now it’s so obvious!

[@tricky_english]

There is only one Ll sound

[@plopezuma]

I'm from Costa Rica. I enjoy your videos a lot, specially because you call out many behaviors we Spanish speakers have, that does help a lot! Thank you.

[@axelmont]

Wow, these videos are such a big help. They really make a difference and demystify those subtle details when pronouncing English words. To think that a few decades ago, the only way to access quality content like this was through private classes and such. Thank you very much for this content!

[@sandromiranda651]

Thank you so much for explaining to us how to use light and dark L. Brazilians use ultra mega light L and W instead dark L to speak Portuguese.

[@anasilviatelleriamartinez1812]

Mesmerized! I had no idea before, thank you so much!! 🤩 I am from Cuba, I just learn with you on this video one of the highest possible reasons why many times some people struggled to understand simple sentences I said. I had no clue why they could understand more complicated things I mentioned but in some moments kind of not being sure what I just said 😂😂😂😂😂😂. Could you imagine that my reaction most likely has been trying to do more clear Spanish "L" for the Dark L sound because before, I had no idea it existed? Thank you so much again!

[@irislaboy4026]

Best explanation ever. Thank you.

[@othmanalzaq6132]

I live in Palestine I studied English literature at the university in the first year studied Linguistics dark and clear (l) I took them today at the university and returned them from the video were really wonderful watch

[@hadar.shemesh]

Thank you❤️ good luck in your studies

[@othmanalzaq6132]

@@hadar.shemesh نا حقا اعشق اللهجة البريطانية هل يوجد ملف pdf يشمل تعليم british accent

[@rogerfarias4506]

Another great lesson. Thanks a lot.

[@khalidmansoori838]

I am From India and learning alot of things from you. Thank you for making videos and making English communication easy for us.☺️

[@carso8100]

It's simply awesome! The best. Thank you.

[@SeaRich]

Really exclusive and clear tutorial. Colored dark L!

[@marzenam6482]

At last I listened to the explanation and really heard and felt the difference. Thank you so much and best from Poland

[@张嘉屹-u6k]

This is so so so good! Thank you so much!

[@afsanearman7664]

Thank you hadar This video is very useful 🙏

[@nenabatatinha]

Shalom, Hadar! 😀 I am so glad I found you on KZbin. I am a Brazilian who studied 10 years of English before coming to the US. I have been in the Bay Area for almost 19 years, but have an enormous difficulty with the “l” in the word “noddle”. Native people say my English is good, but I know I have this heavy accent and I still have difficulty with verbs finishing in “ed”. Thank you much!🌸

[@hadar.shemesh]

Hi there! I promise to make a video about the 'ed' soon!!

[@LuisFelipe-vd6dl]

Great explanation of L sounds. Congrats!

[@eddycuevas5130]

Spanish speaker from Dominican Republic. Ultralight L has been my problem

[@PanteraJOE123]

Grate explanation, Thank you for your work, you are making a grate afford to teach us English. I love the way you do this work......

[@thanhthanh2983]

Thanks Hadar for the lesson.

[@easyenglishwithroger]

I think a good word fir practicing dark L is the word "towel ". It does has a sound of w and right after the dark L. I consider a hard one becayse of it....but a good one for practicing.

[@omermadriiid3403]

I love your way to teach us how we pronounce the words correctly thanks a lot my teacher

[@hadar.shemesh]

Thank you!

[@giyu2687]

great explanation! thank you so much

[@erikboing1624]

I checked out a lot of posts trying to learn sound L. This is the best! Thank you! I am so glad to know now how to pronounce it.

[@Forlocsake]

I just feel like crying, I finally understand the sound, not that I can make it yet but I kind of know where it is now. THANK YOU SO MUCH. New subbie here. You and Rachel are the best

[@hadar.shemesh]

I'm so thrilled to hear!! Keep practicing and let me know when you are finally able to do it!! ♥️

[@sandradu2438]

Thanks for your generosity. World is a dificulta word

[@cristinaferreira624]

Thank you so much, I’ve been learning a lot with your videos! As a Portuguese speaker, the word that is difficult for me to pronounce is “world”. I’m training on that, thanks again!

[@nguyethong860486]

Me too. It’s difficult to distinguish WORD or WORLD

[@wichaisawangpongkasame9237]

Hadar, you're the best. i've never been this clearer on these sound before.

[@renejmartins]

I discovered your channel last week and I'm just addicted to your videos! I am now your diehard fan!

[@hadar.shemesh]

Hahah so happy to have you here!!

[@Sarah-uq8vp]

For me, it’s cool, school, tool, etc. Have been struggling with these words for a long time. Thank you, I think I pronounce them better now

[@KarlaRodriguez-mx2od]

I love this videos. It is like magic how easy is to correct the sound. The challenge is to do it naturally . Thanks Hadar!

[@clflover]

I've always been one of those people who would never feel comfortable having a non native English speaker teach English pronunciation... until I came across Hadar. Thank you for all the time and efforts you put into making these videos.

[@marcosdisiervi6481]

After 30 years I’ve just noticed I have an ultralight L!!! Thanks a lot!!!!

[@hadar.shemesh]

That's awesome!! Glad to help:)

[@dongli8295]

Thanks! Chinese English learner. That's the most difficult sound for all the Chinese people.

[@duongtho88]

Hi Hadar, I'm from Vietnam and I have to say that your lessons are great. I am trying to improve my pronunciation by using Elsa app on my phone and although the app helps to point out my mistakes, it does not help me to make the correct ones. I have also gone through a few pronunciation courses and books before but none show me the light and dark L (they seem to have only 1 version of L). Thank you a lot for your great help and your videos will push me through a lot of difficulties to have perfect accent.

[@justinlin9470]

This is the best explanation of dark L I have ever seen on the KZbin. I watched almost all the dark L pronunciation videos and never could get it right. The key is the sound before the L. The ee(y)l and (w)l are so well demonstrated. Thank you a lot.

[@bobholmes4215]

Ok, I've been searching for a clear explanation and demonstration of clear/light L vs dark L, and this is by far the best among the 5 or 6 I looked at, by a considerable margin. I think you mention tension in a way...'this nice tense sound' - and I think you're right, there has to be some tension in the tongue to get this sound. Personally, I brace my tongue against the alveolar ridge as if for a light l, but I realise after watching this that the only purpose is to brace the tongue for tension. After some experimentation, I found I could still make a dark l by bracing my tongue elsewhere in the mouth, but I can't do it without, but I guess this varies between speakers. I'm British, but I found another vid by a British guy who said not to make contact with the tip of the tongue anywhere. Anyway, great video! Right to the point, great demos, and not needlessly long.

[@blueberries4753]

You are always great and the way you help other's are just mind boggling

[@vasudevvkm4938]

I'm from India, and I speak Malayalam. Sorry, I couldn't find my type of mistakes here but I do think you are a very good teacher. :)

[@JH-jw2sn]

you are an excellent teacher.

[@yemengoto4905]

Great! Most teachers don't talk about the dark L which is more difficult.

[@johnhalat]

Brazilians do use a "w" sound to substitute the dark "L". It´s been like that in our own language for the last two generations. Old people used a light "L" as in Spanish or French in words like "Brasil", "sol" or "mel". Great class, btw.

[@hadar.shemesh]

Interesting, thank you!!

[@makhloufmimoun7475]

I watched many videos on youtube about the dark L and I couldn't get it right, after I watched your video now I can pronounce it, thanks Hadar

[@hadar.shemesh]

This makes me happy!!

[@ctiemy]

Great vídeo. I am Brazilian and justo now I got de difference of Dark L with our L :)

[@pinakaraelephant5873]

You're amazing! The explanation is so clear and spot on! Thank you for making those videos.

[@john.andrew.brighton]

I am familiar with the “dark L” because I was from a place near Sheffield, and Sheffield and other towns in Yorkshire in the UK uses the “dark L.” I could even do a “heavy L” like you mentioned being that I already could naturally do the “dark L”

[@adanacaccentcoaching2685]

Brilliant AND helpful vid - I learned something new and I'm a phonetician! (the fee(y)l and poo(w)l tip is great to get speakers to kind of "syllabify" dark l codas) I even notice Kiwi's using w instead of l, in codas, such as "littew, tunnew" instead of little, tunnel. I'm from Vancouver, BC. And we use light and dark l in Canadian English the same way you do in American English.

[@vutran4577]

Hi. Thank you for your interesting lesson. I'm from Vietnam and I think the most difficult word containing 'L' is WORLD.

[@alejandromaciel9748]

Never felt it that way! You are totally awesome Hadar, thank you so much!

[@k-tube1657]

actually i watched many videos from other teachers who r native english speakers they didnt explain the difference between English L (the light and the dark) and the L who the other languages speaker pronounce it , u explained that clearly thanks teacher Hadar

[@hadar.shemesh]

Thank you so much dear!

[@nikky2074]

i should admit that the most hard word with "L" is "Love" not only because of "L", but also because all (!) the sounds are so similar to sounds from my native language (russian) and none is really the same =) i use a trick in such words: when tip of the tongue is between the teeth, in most cases it is much easier and what came into my mind while rewatching was "i really feel i have a lot to learn" =)))))

[@kayakcph564]

Dear Hadar, we know that L at the end of the word is a dark L. What about following cases, it remains dark? or it transforms in a light L?: (a) followed by ~ing, e.g. "falling" (b) followed by a word starting with a vowel, pronounced together, e.g. "the ball above " Many thanks again!!

[@ranjbarahmad6856]

lovely video it was so helpful Thank you