Tired of burr? Learning to pronounce “r” correctly

The formation of speech is not an easy task, which a child masters between the ages of 2 and 4 years. During this period, he learns to understand the speech of others and tries to reproduce the sounds of his native alphabet himself. As a rule, 4-year-old children can already pronounce all sounds. But often they have a hard time pronouncing the sounds “l” and “r”.

In speech therapy they are considered quite complex, so specialists take another 2 years to develop them. If a child cannot master them independently before the age of 6, then he should be helped. There are several ways to quickly teach a child to say the letter “r” at home, without the help of a speech therapist. At the same time, it is important for parents to have patience and endurance, since training requires constant effort and a lot of time.

What prevents you from pronouncing the letter “r” correctly?

The main reasons why this sound is not pronounced are problems associated with the oral cavity.

Short hypoglossal ligament

Another name is bridle. It is this that prevents the tongue from moving freely. Usually this defect is corrected in the maternity hospital. It can also interfere with your baby's ability to latch onto the nipple properly during breastfeeding. If this defect was discovered at school age, it is stretched with speech therapy exercises.

Problems with phonemic awareness

Phonetic hearing is the ability to hear and perceive sounds correctly. At three years old, children should be able to distinguish sounds that are similar to each other, although they cannot yet pronounce them. In some cases, such disorders are associated with adenoids and other diseases. Thus, the child does not hear a certain sound and in his speech he replaces it with another similar one.

Incorrect speech breathing

To correctly pronounce sounds, including the letter P, you need to control your exhalation. Not all children can do this at an early age. Some raise their shoulders to do this, others do not know how to regulate their breathing during speech.

Bite

A correct bite involves the upper teeth overlapping the lower ones by about a third, the remaining teeth should close tightly together. With an incorrect bite, it is physiologically impossible to produce some sounds correctly. The child's bite will need to be corrected.

Introduction to Speech

Eliminating incorrect pronunciation is a long process and takes time. On average, it takes up to a year to correct the defect. The help of parents also plays a big role. If they are interested, they will study daily.

Adults can also be burry. And the same methods of sound production apply to them. It will take serious motivation to cope with a speech impediment.

Sometimes parents do not understand why they should force their child to speak correctly. His future career depends on this. Many professions have standards and people with defects will not be hired.

It will take a long time to introduce sound into speech. At this stage, it is important to engage self-control. It is necessary to correct the child, force him to remember the correct pronunciation. It is useful to learn rhymes, simple sayings, tongue twisters.

Correction of any defect directly depends on the coordinated work of a specialist and parents. Only together can they cope with the problem. The faster a child learns articulatory gymnastics and begins to perform it perfectly, the sooner a sound will be given to him.

How can a child distort "R"

Incorrect “r” sounds are called rhotacism - these are the sounds that are replaced instead of this letter. Before determining exercises for producing the sound R, it is necessary to understand exactly how the child pronounces this sound. It happens like this:

• Burr or speaking through the throat. When pronounced, the palate vibrates instead of the tip of the tongue. A similar phenomenon is more typical for French, but not for Russian.
• Lateral "R". This happens if the side is pressed against the upper jaw, the opposite side hangs down. In this case, the tip cannot vibrate, and the sound P itself is more similar to “rl”.
• Single-stroke "r". Instead of shaking, the tip hits the roof of your mouth. This is how the English letter “R” is pronounced.
• Pronunciation through the nose. The air flow must pass through the mouth.
• Kucherskoe R. The tongue vibrates on the pressed lips, resulting in the sound “tpr”, not a pure R.
• Pararotacism. This is the phenomenon of replacing the sound P with another, for example G.L,V.
• Pass. The child simply does not pronounce this sound at all and misses it in his speech.

Reasons for violations

Why does a child have a problem with the pronunciation of R? There are several reasons, and to eliminate some of them you need the help of several specialists, not just a speech therapist:

• Anatomical features. These include a shortened hyoid frenulum, cleft lip, palate, and malocclusion.
• The air stream is not strong enough.
• Incorrect position of the organs of articulation - there are no anatomical disorders, but, for example, the tongue is in the wrong position because the child did not remember the correct articulation.
• Incorrect speech environment - often parents worry that if they burr, then their children will pronounce R incorrectly. This is not a genetic predisposition, but an incorrect speech environment. The child hears the incorrect pronunciation and tries to copy it. This is why rotacism arises.
• The child does not distinguish sounds by ear - this is a violation of the phonetic processes.

In addition, if there is a complex speech disorder - alalia, then incorrect sound pronunciation may be a consequence of insufficient activity of the speech areas of the brain. It is important to determine the exact cause of rhotacism and pararotacism in order to draw up a plan for corrective work.

What exercises can you do at home?

Exercises should be aimed at the reason why the child cannot pronounce this sound R.

Exercises for the hyoid ligament

This exercise improves the elasticity of the tongue muscle and develops its mobility. The exercise consists of the following:

• try to reach your nose with the tip;
• the tongue is pressed firmly to the palate and drawn towards the throat as far as possible;
• open your mouth, bend your tongue out as far as possible;
• carried out along the inside of the teeth in different directions;
• rolls up with a shovel and sticks out.

Exercises to develop mobility of the tip of the tongue

The sound P appears only when the tip vibrates. To develop this, there are special exercises:

• bite the tip;
• click the tongue pressed to the palate;
• the protruding tongue is pressed against the lip and air is exhaled, thereby creating vibration at its tip;
• pronounce the letters D, T with your mouth open.
• "D" and "T".

Statement P

Exercises aimed at correct pronunciation:

• R is pronounced in the position of the tongue in which the sounds D and T are pronounced, but with slight vibration. To do this, the tongue is pressed tightly against the palate and the air is exhaled.
• Say "DRRRRR" or "TRRRRR".
• Connecting to the sound of vowels, for example DRO, BRO, VRE.
• Pronounce words with a combination of the letters “tr” and “dr”.
• Consolidating the result with tongue twisters.

It is advisable to do all these exercises in front of a mirror and under the supervision of an adult, who should help and advise.

Articulation exercises

Before starting all the exercises, you need to do gymnastics, and only then proceed to the training itself.

Swing

Loose tongue with open mouth. You need to touch the upper and lower teeth. Periodically lingers on the top for 10-20 seconds.

Cuckoo

The tip sticks out and touches the upper lip, and then goes behind the upper teeth. The mouth should be wide open.

Painter

The tongue is passed over the teeth, cheeks, and palate. The tongue is like a brush and you need to paint the inside of the oral cavity with it.

horse

The tongue makes clicking sounds.

Treat

The tongue licks the lips clockwise.

Kitty

Lick an imaginary treat from a saucer. The tongue should not be curled.

Harmonic

You need to raise your tongue and secure it to the roof of your mouth. In this position, close your mouth.

Hammer

Smile widely and tap your lower teeth with the tip of your tongue.

Preparation of the articulatory apparatus

In correctional classes, the preparatory stage is devoted to working with the articulatory apparatus. Exercises are performed to stretch the hyoid ligament, lift the tongue upward, and warm up the lips and jaw.

Tasks for preparing the articulatory apparatus for work:

1. “Swing” - open your mouth, stretch your tongue alternately to your nose and chin.
2. “Horse” - click your tongue slowly and forcefully, imitating the sound of a horse’s hooves, while the lower jaw remains motionless.
3. “Chatter” - use the wide tip of your tongue to run back and forth along your upper lip, without lifting your tongue. Simultaneously say “BL-BL-BL”.

How to make the sound R

It is recommended to start with setting other sounds, and only after that move on to the letter R.

Drum

Hit your upper teeth with your tongue and at the same time pronounce the letter D. The pace gradually accelerates.

Buzzer

When pronouncing Zh, we slowly pull the tongue towards the throat. The sound Zh should go into R.

Snake

We repeat the letter C and swallow our tongue, touching the tip of the palate with it.

Turkey

You need to stick out your tongue and move it back and forth, making sliding movements with its tip along the roof of your mouth.

Komarik

You need to open your mouth, raise your tongue up and rest it on the alveoli, making buzzing sounds.

Motor

A finger is placed under the tongue and active movements are made. At the same time, the KOMARIK exercise is performed.

How to consolidate the result

If the child begins to pronounce this sound, it is necessary to reinforce this. To do this, there are some exercises:

• say R loudly several times;
• consolidate through the pronunciation of words and syllables with the letter P;
• remove exercises with “D”;
• switch to reverse pronunciations, instead of RA-RO, say AR-OR;
• use tongue twisters.

These exercises will consolidate the result and bring the pronunciation of the letter P to automaticity. At the initial stages, the amount of P should be large. The child must remember and get used to the articulation of this sound. P should be firmly fixed in his speech. An adult should pronounce it together with the baby, showing the correct pronunciation. Then the child must actively use words with R in his speech.

Adviсe

1. Until the age of two, you should not insist that your toddler begin to pronounce complex sounds. Parents must understand that first of all, the baby will pronounce simple ones.
2. When your child turns five years old, it’s time to start actively learning the correct pronunciation of the letter r. It is advisable that the classes take place in a playful way; it will be more interesting for the child.
3. Be patient. You have hard work ahead of you, but if you follow all the rules and with your perseverance, success awaits you. If the problem is in the frenulum, you need to contact a surgeon and talk about eliminating this defect.
4. Classes should be daily, always at the same time. Large gaps between workouts will negate all gains.
5. It is ideal for the child to do the exercises in front of a mirror or try to repeat after an adult and imitate him. Although classes should be daily, they should not last long so that the baby does not get tired.
6. For a child to achieve results, he must learn to exhale well. For this purpose, you can use soap bubbles; the baby will learn to exhale by blowing bubbles. A ping pong ball can also help; have your child try to blow it into the goal using his breath. This exercise will allow you to properly organize the air stream.
7. Choose a quiet time for classes, when the baby is in a good mood.
8. Exercises should be in a playful way so that the child finds it interesting. Otherwise, the little one will not be interested in activities and will very quickly lose all interest in them.
9. Be sure to praise your child for his successes, even if they are minor.
10. If a child does not succeed at all, there is no need to reproach him or mock him.
11. It is unacceptable to compare your child with another child, because this way you cannot avoid the development of low self-esteem and a number of complexes.
12. When communicating with a child, there is no need to lisp or distort words in any way, because it will be difficult for him to understand why you require him to pronounce correctly when you yourself say it incorrectly.
13. The first step is to pronounce the sound itself, after that you can move on to a soft sound, then you should start using the sound in syllables, the next step is to move on to words, then tongue twisters.

Now you know how to quickly teach your baby to say r. Remember that it is better to visit a speech therapist even if you are sure that you can cope on your own. Do not forget that parents cannot always correctly determine the cause of speech deviation. Remember that activities with your child should be carried out daily, but you should not overtire him too much.

Sound production methods

Imitation

In children under six years of age, the sound P often appears as a result of their imitation. That is why adults must speak correctly, clearly, as clearly as possible. Adults must demonstrate perfect phonetic pronunciation.

Exercises from "F"

If the pronunciation of this letter is not impaired, then when pronouncing it, the tongue is moved with a finger or a stick inside the mouth. So the letter Zh smoothly turns into R. This is reinforced by frequent repetition, gradually the child pronounces the desired sound without using an auxiliary one.

If a preschooler pronounces “F” correctly, then when pronouncing it, you can move the tongue with a stick deeper into the mouth. A short “R” is formed. Strengthen it by repeating the exercises. After automating “R”, select words without using “F”.

Exercises from "C"

The child must draw out the letter, inhale and press his tongue against the alveoli. This is how R will appear. By carrying out strengthening exercises, you can achieve complete automation of R in speech.

Production from "Z"

When pronouncing “Z,” the child lightly touches the alveoli with the tip of his tongue and simultaneously blows on the tongue. This way the required “P” will be heard with vibration. This method is similar to the “C” method and is rarely used by speech therapists.

Pronunciation of R while inhaling

Speech is pronounced when inhaling, it should be short.

Mechanical method

The sound R can be produced mechanically. This will require special speech therapy tools. The child should open his mouth and raise his tongue to the palate. At this time, the speech therapist makes tapping movements with a hammer on the alveoli and vibrates the tongue with a spatula. The sound must first be fixed with the help of instruments, then the child gets used to it and can do without them.

The vibration occurs when a wad of thick paper and string is placed on the tip of the tongue. When it is removed from the surface, you need to blow strongly on the tongue. This must be used carefully without injuring the child.

Communication with a speech therapist

Parents should understand that they have the power to teach their child to pronounce letters correctly, but a visit to a speech therapist is also necessary. The fact is that a specialist will be able to check the frenulum, phonemic hearing, throat tone, thanks to this diagnosis, he will accurately identify the cause of the difficulties in your case. Also, a speech therapist will be able to create the correct individual system of exercises that will allow your child to learn clear speech.

1. According to the specialist’s testimony, parents will have to do articulation gymnastics with the baby. If they do not have enough time for this or cannot complete the classes, then it is better to agree with a speech therapist about private lessons. It is important not to let the situation take its course.
2. You need to plan your first visit to a speech therapist after the age of two years. This may be a planned round before kindergarten. It is advisable that, in addition to meeting with a speech therapist, the child is examined by a neurologist, because it is necessary to exclude brain pathologies.

Setting “R” according to Khvattsev

This technique was created by teacher Mikhail Efimovich Khvattsev in 1959. This method consists of several successive steps:

• Composing individual phrases containing similar words that differ by one letter - pitifully hot, thief-ox and others.
• Causing vibrations in the tongue mechanically. To do this, knock on the gums.
• Getting the sound "R" from "D".
• Bringing pronunciation to automaticity, we pronounce syllables and words with this letter.

This technique is actively used today, although it appeared during the USSR period.

Levina's method

Rosa Evgenievna Levina created her own method in 1965, which consisted of articulation exercises for setting the letter R. At the beginning of the lessons, the fricative R is achieved, which does not have a characteristic vibration.

• The second stage is training the sounds Zh, Sh. You need to move your lips apart, but without rounding them. In this case, you need to pull out the sound Zh and move the tip of your tongue to the top.
• At the first stage, the exercises are aimed at obtaining the fricative "P" without vibration after achieving correct articulation.
• To obtain P, D is used, which must be pronounced while exhaling. The mouth should be open and the tongue connected to the upper gums.

Bogomolova method

A.I. Bogomolova in 1979 proposed a method for generating vibration for saying “R”. The teeth are open to a distance of 2 fingers. The tongue is pressed against the palate, stretching the frenulum as much as possible. The teacher moves the edges of the tongue towards the palate with his fingers, while the frenulum is free.

The child takes a deep breath and blows it out sharply, using his voice. The combination “TZ” is formed. Repeat the exercise, gradually increasing the air pressure. The sound combination “TLE” will change to “TR”. After fixing the short “TR”, they practice the rolling “TR” with the help of fingers, and then without them.

How to conduct a speech therapy warm-up

All classes with a speech therapist or at home should begin with a warm-up. It has a number of tasks:

• develops motor skills and articulation;
• improves lower diaphragmatic breathing;
• develops oral and nasal pronunciation of individual sounds;
• activates the muscles of the palate, tongue, and pharynx;
• the child's voice and ability to speak with expression are assessed;
• a sense of rhythm is developed;
• improves the musculature of the articulatory muscles.

Here you can use various tongue twisters, rhymes, and children's songs.

Correct R sound

Speech therapists recommend putting this sound last. This usually happens at 5-6 years of age. Until this age, incorrect P is considered normal. Many children begin to pronounce it on their own, without the efforts of a speech therapist or special exercises. There are cases when the help of a speech therapist may be needed earlier. This is necessary if P has already appeared, but in the wrong form. It can be replaced by L, V and others. Normally, P should be pronounced when:

• relaxed lips;
• the distance between the lower and upper jaw does not exceed 5mm;
• the tongue is raised to the gums of the upper teeth;
• the tongue should vibrate;
• the middle part of the lingual muscle is slightly arched;
• the back part is pressed against the palate;
• the sides are pressed to the top;
• the vocal cords undergo intense vibrations.

Only in this case can the pronunciation be considered normal and correct.