The /l/ sound is unusual in English because it’s made with lateral air release. This is different from many other sounds, such as /s/, where we are trying to avoid lateral air release at all costs!
What you need
a mirror, a tongue depressor, dental floss (waxed and bubble gum flavored!)
Teaching the /l/ sound
Show the child how you lift the tip of your tongue up behind your upper teeth. See if they can imitate this. If they have a hard time, check that they have /d/, /t/, or /n/ in their inventory as these share the same placement, and can be used as a prime to help teach them where to put their tongue for /l/.
Ask the child to imitate syllables of 'lah' or 'luh.' If they struggle, get out your dental floss!
Have the child 'hold' the middle of a long piece of dental floss up against their alveolar ridge, or the spot just behind their upper teeth. You hold on to both ends of the floss. As the child 'holds' the middle of the piece up against the alveolar ridge, you can start to pull down gently on the sides of their tongue with the floss.
Things to watch out for
Remember that word final /l/ is velarized. A common error for young kids is that they use the light, or front /l/ in word final position, which can make their speech sound younger.
What if the error is a nasal substitution?
If the substitution is an /n/ for /l/, I find it’s easiest to start with a word medial /n/ in nonsense syllables.
Conclusion
If you need free /l/ flashcard printouts, check out our free downloads page!