Stages of setting the sound L: preparation, techniques, exercises

Speaking is a skill whose importance is difficult to overestimate. People communicate with each other automatically and do not even think about what speech mechanisms are involved in the process. There are a lot of sounds we pronounce, but pronouncing some of them causes certain difficulties.

Usually, by the age of 4-5 years, a child can already pronounce almost all sounds. Unfortunately, some letters are much more difficult to master than others. Problems often arise with the pronunciation of the sound L. Kids stammer, distort words and “lisp.” And if in kindergarten this causes affection, then at school the inability to pronounce all sounds correctly can become a serious problem. How to teach a child to say the letter L? It turns out that there are a number of effective techniques that can eliminate such a speech defect at home.

Pronunciation L: norm and deviations

For correct articulation, it is necessary that the teeth are not clenched and there is a gap between them. The tip of the tongue is slightly tense and touches the gums of the upper front teeth; it is lowered in the middle and on the sides, and slightly raised at the base. A stream of air comes from both sides between the tongue and cheeks. The vocal cords are used, which give the sound a ringing quality.

Incorrect pronunciation is possible when the position of the speech organs is disturbed:

the tongue goes too deep into the oral cavity, and its tip does not touch the gums and upper teeth. Instead of L it turns out Y (“shovel” - “yopata”);
at the moment of pronunciation, a sharp inhalation occurs and the cheeks are involved in the process - it turns out F;
The lower lip is close to the upper teeth, the tip of the tongue lies at the bottom of the mouth. The result is the sound B (“came” - “stitch”);
When you exhale, the air flows through your nose. A sound similar to “ng” (“lamp” - “ngampa”) comes out;
the labial muscles tense instead of the tongue muscles - bilabial pronunciation. It turns out U instead of L (“boat” - “boat”);
interdental sound is noted. It sounds almost the same as a regular L, but the tip of the tongue is located between the teeth, and not behind the upper incisors.

It is also possible to replace L with D, Y, soft L (“class” - “class”) or complete loss of sound (“fox” - “isa”). In some cases, they first put R, and then - then the child says instead of “moon” - “rune”, and then they put L.

How to position your tongue and lips

Articulation of the sound "L".

In most children, lambdaism is associated not with anatomical disorders of the speech apparatus, but with incorrect positioning of the lips and tongue.

To achieve correct pronunciation, you must follow these rules:

Make sure that the upper teeth do not touch the lower teeth. There should be a narrow space between them.
The sides of the tongue should not touch the upper molars. This will ensure proper breathing.
The tip should be firm and rest on or just above your upper teeth.
The area at the root should be slightly raised.
The upper palate is slightly raised so that air cannot enter the nasal cavity when exhaling.
The vocal cords vibrate and create the vocal sound.

The position of children's lips depends on what sound follows L.

Reasons for violations

There are many possible provoking factors:

Breathing disorders during speech, for example, with a pathology such as a decrease in lung volume or weakness of the respiratory muscles;
Problems with speech hearing (the child does not perceive speech well);
Weakness of facial expressions and tongue muscles;
Incorrect structure of the frenulum under the tongue.

Often, birth injuries and delayed mental and motor development in infancy and preschool age lead to problems in articulation. It is important to contact a speech therapist in a timely manner to correct the situation.

The stages of setting the sound L are preparation, direct correction and consolidation. It is important to do everything step by step, practicing each step.

When to contact a speech therapist?

By the age of 4, the sound L is easy for the child, he begins to correctly pronounce words with this letter. However, for a number of reasons, kids can distort words:

forget, skip or not hear “L” (instead of “spoon” says “ozhka”);
change “L” to “U” or “V” (“lamp” - “uampa”, “Larissa” - “Varisa”);
instead of “L” say “Y” (“kolobok” - “koyobok”);
confuse soft and hard “L”.

These errors usually resolve on their own or after a few practice sessions at home. In cases where a child’s speech defect is accompanied by malocclusion or a neurological disease, you should consult a specialist. An experienced speech therapist will prescribe an effective training program and help the child pronounce words correctly.

Preparation for setting L

Before starting classes, demonstrate to your child the correct sound of L. Pronounce a few words clearly so that you can see how the tongue and lips are positioned. Name a few words with the L sound and ask the student to determine which part of the word contains the required phoneme.

An integral element of classes on setting L are preparatory exercises:

"hammock". The tip of the tongue rests on the front teeth, and the tongue itself arches like a hammock. You need to hold the muscles in this position for several seconds;
"lollipop". Using a wide tongue, you need to lick your upper lip from top to bottom, while keeping your lower lip motionless. Gradually increase the speed and ask the child to add “bl-bl-bl” sounds when performing the technique;
"horse". This is a playful way of setting L, beloved by all children. The wide tongue rises and clicks across the palate. The mouth is slightly open, the lower jaw is motionless;
"swing". Ask your ward to smile widely with an open mouth and rest the hard tip of the tongue first on the back surface of the upper front teeth, and then on the lower ones. 5 – 10 repetitions are required;
"fungus". The back should be pressed against the upper palate so that the frenulum is slightly stretched. We fix the position for 5 – 10 seconds.

It is worth adding general strengthening exercises - roll your tongue into a tube, “brush” your teeth with it, alternately touch your cheeks. The entire complex must be completed at least 14 days before the start of L’s treatment with a speech therapist.

By imitation

A fairy tale about a small steamboat.
Once upon a time there lived a little steamboat, Mickey, who didn’t want to blow his whistle. His mother told him how bad it was, well-mannered boats always honk if they meet other boats on their way. Dad said: “You are so small, they might not notice you in the fog.” One day the following story happened: Mickey got lost. He started playing with funny colorful fish that jumped out of the water. I didn’t notice how the fog rose. He wanted to buzz, but he couldn’t. Let's show him how to buzz.

Show how to lift the wide tongue (I) over the upper teeth (H). If it doesn’t work out, sit in front of the mirror with your baby and show him. Show on your hands - fold your palm into a cup, as if you want to scoop up water (this is Me) and rest it on the other palm, standing on its edge (teeth).

Staging methods

First, the articulation of a soft sound is honed, and then a hard one. They use various methods of production: by imitation, mechanical, from other sounds, as well as breathing and articulation exercises. Individual staging is always more effective than working in a group.

By imitation

This is the most common and simplest staging technique and can be done at home. It is necessary to show several times how to correctly position the tongue and lips when pronouncing L correctly. Then the child repeats. To control, touch your cheeks - they should vibrate slightly.

With this setting, the child is asked to feel a warm wave of air on the palm of his hand when pronouncing sounds. Pictures depicting the letter itself and the articulation technique are useful - a visual image helps to quickly master the skill.

Mechanical method

This is a widely used method. Mechanical placement involves the use of auxiliary means - fingers, a spatula, a probe, a wooden stick or the handle of a teaspoon to fix the speech organs in the correct position.

Possible correction options:

You can create the necessary space between the sides of the tongue and the upper teeth for the correct direction of the air stream using a wooden stick placed across the tongue;
Holding your lips in a smiling position with your fingers will help correct U to L with bilabial pronunciation;
Pressing the pad of the thumb or the back of the hand on the dimple under the chin allows you to get a hard sound when pronouncing a soft one.

With a light massage with your fingertips it is easy to relax facial muscles.

From other sounds

In speech therapy there is a method of setting from A. The child pulls out the vowel and pushes the tongue between the teeth, then bites it in the middle. The sound A turns into a solid sound L.

It is possible to set a hard sound L through Y. You need to lightly bite the tip of your tongue and make the Y sound. If everything is done correctly, L will be heard.

There is a more complex variation. The tongue lies halfway between the teeth. You need to start exhaling forcefully. First we do it silently, then we add voice. We hear a noisy hard sound L, which over time becomes clear and distinct.

Why doesn't the child pronounce [l]?

Usually, by the age of 5-6 years, children pronounce almost all sounds. But quite often you can find children (and adults) whose pronunciation of the sounds [l] and [l'] is impaired. Moreover, producing a solid sound is difficult.

The reasons for incorrect pronunciation are different. Often this is the result of parents lisping with the baby, repeating words after the baby, and the desire to “chat in the child’s language.” This problem is also relevant in bilingual families where Russian is not their native language. Of course, if the parents themselves do not pronounce certain sounds, then their children will speak the same way.

There may also be physiological factors - problems with hearing, with proper breathing, the structure of the articulatory apparatus. Very often, a child does not pronounce [l] due to a short frenulum of the tongue, but with the help of special exercises it can be stretched (and not cut, as was done before).

By the way, parents’ request to teach their child to “pronounce the letter “L” is not entirely correct. We pronounce sounds and use letters to designate them when writing.

Difficulty pronouncing the sound [L]

Incorrect pronunciation of the sounds [l] and [l'], their omission in speech are designated by the term lambdacism.

Types of lambdacism:

bilabial, when the sound is pronounced only with the lips and instead of “l” the result is “u” (“uampa” instead of “lamp”);
nasal, in which, due to the incorrect position of the tongue, the air flow rushes into the nose and [l] sounds like [ng] (“ngampa”);
interdental – if the tip of the tongue is between the teeth;
the sound in speech is omitted (“ampa”).

Replacing hard [l] with other sounds is called paralambdacisism. These include:

replacement with [g] - “gastochka” (“swallow”), “guna” (“moon”);
replacement with [v] - “mavysh” (“baby”), “yabvoko” (“apple”);
replacement with [d] - “doshad” (“horse”), “dyzhi” (“skis”);
replacing with [j] - “yomtik” (“slice”);
replacement with [u] - “usichka” (“chanterelle”);
a situation when a child softens the sound by saying [l'] - “lampa” (“lamp”).

These pronunciation deficiencies can be corrected by doing simple, entertaining exercises every day.

Articulation gymnastics

The set of exercises for setting includes tasks similar to those in the preparatory stage, but they are somewhat more complicated:

"Window". The mouth is wide open, the teeth are slightly parted, and the tongue lies at the bottom of the mouth. The jaws are motionless and slightly tense. The position is held for up to 5 – 10 seconds;
"Ladle". The tongue sticks out, and its tip bends like a ladle. The middle part of the tongue does not touch the upper teeth. The position is fixed for a few seconds, then the tongue relaxes and retracts into the mouth. You need to do several repetitions;
"Panicle". The curved and tense tip of the tongue needs to be moved across the palate at different paces, gradually connecting the voice. The jaw does not move, the teeth are visible;
"Cup". We make the tongue a “broom”, as in the previous exercise, reaching the palate with the curved tip at the alveoli. The lips take on an oval shape;
"Harmonic". The tongue is applied to the palate, after which the mouth must be opened and closed, stretching the ligaments well.

The exercises are aimed at increasing the motor activity of the tongue, practicing the desired position, increasing tone and improving the elasticity of the hyoid ligament.

Causes of impaired sound pronunciation in adults

Most often, impaired sound pronunciation in adults is the result of speech problems that were not eliminated in childhood. As a rule, a speech disorder is accompanied by low tone and slight incoordination of the articulatory organs: tongue, lips, jaws.

Various anomalies in the structure of the speech apparatus are often noted: an incorrectly formed bite, a short hyoid ligament, an inflated or narrow palatine vault. They can be diagnosed by a dentist or orthodontist. Also, the state of speech is affected by factors such as deterioration of physical hearing and neurological problems. Speech problems can occur due to injury or severe stress.

Breathing exercises

Exercises for setting L are combined with breathing techniques to enhance the effect:

Inhale quickly and exhale smoothly;
Blow on the turntable for as long as possible;
Stop the running horse: take a breath, relax your lips, exhale the air to make the sound “prr”;
Inflate the “ball”: lying on your back while inhaling, strongly protrude your stomach, while exhaling, “deflate”.

You can play a guessing game - ask your child, with his eyes closed, to guess fruits or other objects by smell. For correct setting, all tasks are performed while inhaling.

Covid no longer scares: how the authorities stopped taking the coronavirus into account when it is profitable

“A number of large shopping centers have already received a warning this week. And the work to monitor compliance with the mask regime will be intensified and carried out even more intensively,” said Alexey Nemeryuk, head of the Moscow Department of Trade and Services, on Monday, September 27, a week after the State Duma elections. A week later, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin noted that the spread of coronavirus was causing “serious concern,” and the head of Rospotrebnadzor added that the situation was “extremely tense.”

By this time, the decline in the number of new Covid cases, which had continued since the end of July, had stopped and an increase had begun. A similar surge in incidence was last observed in mid-June, when the more contagious “delta” strain began to take over Russia, and before that, two more waves occurred in the spring and autumn-winter of 2021.

How the authorities first reckoned with the waves of Covid, and then stopped

If we superimpose the most important events for the government in 2021 on the coronavirus incidence curve - the 75th Victory Parade and the vote on the Constitution, we can see that both events were held after the first wave of coronavirus had subsided. An increase in infections, according to the graph, did not follow these events.

The situation is different this year. Only some of the events important for the Kremlin took place under favorable epidemic conditions. The concert in Luzhniki, which Vladimir Putin attended, was held at a time when the increase in new Covid cases was at its lowest levels for this year. The same can be said about the 2021 Victory Parade.

A new wave begins in mid-June, but this does not interfere with the European Football Championship, which ends at the crest of infection rates. It is difficult to call the situation with the number of new infections during the Scarlet Sails holiday for school graduates in St. Petersburg favorable. The abolition of QR codes at the end of July in Moscow is also difficult to explain by good morbidity figures.

Coronavirus infection chart

Can you trust official data on the number of infections?

During the pandemic, demographers and epidemiologists have repeatedly drawn attention to the oddities of the operational headquarters’ numbers. “I always start a conversation like this: forget that there are operational headquarters. It makes no sense to discuss that for some reason today there are exactly one thousand fewer or more registered cases than yesterday. But because. Because gladiolus. Because that’s how they decided to draw it yesterday,” says independent demographer Alexei Raksha, one of the main critics of the official figures. Back in July 2021, after voting on amendments to the Constitution, he noted an unusual decrease in the number of diseases. “At the end of June, we were shown a certain decline in even symptomatic cases, and then an increase began again, after July 1,” said Raksha.

In his opinion, the most accurate indicator reflecting the situation with the spread of covid is the dynamics of specific queries in search engines. “The incidence curve is very far behind. I only use queries in Yandex - for example, queries about smell still reflect dynamics better than others,” he explains.

Experts cited several possible reasons for the distortions in official statistics. “Firstly, different regions count differently, and the epidemic moves across the country from month to month. And secondly, even within a particular region, over time, the operational headquarters sometimes begins to count better - maybe they import more tests, or they start cheating less,” says Dmitry Kobak, a data researcher from the University of Tübingen in Germany. According to him, it is also possible that in some regions operational headquarters report “retroactively” - that is, for example, they report deaths from July in August.

“Nobody knows what specific deaths the operational headquarters are reporting on,” adds Sergei Timonin, a researcher at the International Laboratory for Population and Health Research at the National Research University Higher School of Economics. “I don’t know of any regulatory documents that would explain this.”

Kobak points out that since the beginning of keeping statistics by region, so-called “shelves” regularly appeared in them - when the number of deaths remained the same for several days, or even weeks. In September, the same “shelves” - with a daily number of deaths in the region of 800 - appeared in the general statistics throughout the country. “Previously, they were only within certain regions. And this is interesting - this means that if earlier they used chemicals at the regional level and then added up the sum, now, apparently, someone adjusted the numbers after or during the summation,” explains Kobak.

Checking data with excess mortality statistics

To get an objective picture reflecting the situation with coronavirus, experts use the excess mortality rate, which is calculated as the difference between actual deaths and the Rosstat forecast - that is, the number of deaths that we would expect if there was no epidemic. It, in turn, is calculated based on data from previous years.

Based on calculations of excess mortality made by Alexey Raksha specifically for Dozhd, we can conclude that by the end of 2021, excess mortality in Russia approached the figure of 360 thousand people. By this time, the operational headquarters had counted almost six times less - about 57 thousand deaths. By September 2021, excess mortality was already more than 675 thousand people. During this period, the operational headquarters reported 180 thousand deaths. Since there have been no other major factors that could have a strong impact on the life expectancy of Russians in the last two years, experts admit that it was the coronavirus that caused a serious increase in mortality in the country.

If the graph of excess mortality is superimposed on the graph of infections constructed according to the operational headquarters data, you can see that they are generally comparable. Alexey Raksha confirms: morbidity statistics for Russia as a whole “with a squint from three meters to some extent reflect reality.” However, as Raksha points out, excess mortality is chronologically ahead of morbidity statistics according to the operational headquarters - and this may be an indicator of a strong distortion of the latter, the demographer emphasizes.

Excess mortality (based on Rosstat data) and data from the operational headquarters on deaths and infections

The situation is different with data on official deaths from covid. When combining the data from the operational headquarters and Rosstat, it is noticeable that the two curves diverge radically.

At the same time, the “hump” in July 2021, which stands out against the backdrop of a drop in infections, is noteworthy in the graph of excess mortality. Raksha believes that part of the increase in excess mortality this month was influenced by the heat in the Urals. However, in his opinion, this factor could add no more than five thousand deaths throughout the country - and the rest of the difference, according to Rakshi, is explained by the “smoothing” of official data from the operational headquarters.

However, the operational headquarters figures remain the only official source of data available to Russians on a daily basis. And as follows from the graphs, this year the Russian authorities have finally stopped focusing even on them when making decisions on holding large-scale events.

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Sound Automation

After speech therapy, it is important to introduce sound into everyday speech. Fix L first in an independent sound, and then in syllables and words. The secret of the production is in the most comfortable and interesting format - using games, tongue twisters, rhymes, riddles containing words with the desired hard and soft sound.

Examples of using L in syllables, words, tongue twisters:

syllables: la, klya, lyu, flu, li, gli, le, ple, ol, spruce;
words: fields, fox, laziness, boat, spoon, drops;
tongue twisters: “La-la-la - cold earth”, “Spruce-spruce - there are drops outside the window.”

Audio automation is done in stages. Gradually lead your child to compose stories based on pictures or their own memories.

Differentiation L

Staging classes are not the final stage. It is important that the child distinguishes L from similar sounding phonemes. L is differentiated separately, as well as in words and sentences.

We offer the following options for games and activities for individual production:

“Remember and repeat.” The child is offered cards with printed syllables with the letters L, R, V: ra-la, ru-lu, al-ar, ul-ur, la-va, ul-uv, etc. Cards with words and sentences are gradually added;
"Find the words in the picture." The baby names words with the letters V, R, L, for example, “watermelon”, “spoon”, “cheese”, “bucket”;
“Fill in the missing syllables and words.” The child is offered a text with ready-made poems and proverbs, where syllables containing L, R, V are deliberately omitted.

The differentiation of “l” and “l” is carried out according to the same principle - the child learns to distinguish between words with soft and hard sounds. For example, “boat-summer”, “moth-chalk”.

From soft “L”

A turkey and a turkey hen are standing next to each other. Dad says “LLLL”, and son “LLLL”. “I want it like you, dad.” The father replies: “Okay, I’ll teach you, but let’s invite the boat to visit, it probably sailed for a long time.” The weather is bad, he is cold. Let’s give him some tea.” They poured tea into a cup. They treated him to sweet straws. The little turkey told how he kneaded the dough for the tubes - “five-five-five” and “cha-ta-cha” and rolled it up. And Mickey showed how he raises his sail. And the little turkey rode up and down on the waves. (swing)

Very often, children already have the sound Л or put it first. There is a replacement of L in speech with L. This happens because in soft sounds there is palatalization, the closure of the palate is not with the tip of the I, but with the back, the I has an incorrect tone, and its tip is not pronounced. Therefore, it is necessary to massage the tongue so that it is wider, and the following exercises are also shown:

cup
sail
knead the dough
straw

We ask the baby to lightly bite the tip of his tongue, “scratch” it with his nail, so that he understands where to rest against the palate (and behind the teeth). We make a “swing” so that you can feel the difference between the convex and concave position of the tongue in the mouth.

The little turkey helped set the sail, tapped his beak “DDDD” “Dad, I can’t do it like you. I want to show Mickey how to buzz.” The father helped the turkey and supported him with his wing

Place your finger in the chin fossa. The baby pronounces “LLLL”, you need to feel the hole from below, press lightly, if there is no deviation away from the midline and problems with the bite, then a hard phoneme will reflexively be obtained.
Press your chin from below with your palm. When pronouncing “L”, rest your chin on the back of your hand. When the pronunciation of L becomes stable, the patient can hold his own hand.

Improving speech hearing

Correct formulation of L is impossible without comprehensive development. To improve speech hearing, the following exercises are recommended:

Pronouncing words at different volumes - from quiet to loud and back again. You can show toys, explaining that the little one speaks quietly, and the big one speaks loudly, then vice versa;
Reading fairy tales in roles with voice acting of characters in different voices - loud and quiet, low and high;
Showing pictures and deliberate mistakes in naming words. The child must “catch” you and identify incorrectly designated words;
Working with pictures that show several words that are similar in pronunciation. The baby must name them correctly. For example, “bow-luk-meadow”.

Do your workouts regularly, supplementing them with games to music. An important element of success is discipline. Teach your child not to miss classes and to work persistently. Think about the motivation - talk about the joys of communication with correct speech. Be patient and tactful, do not criticize for mistakes and failures. Everything will work out!

From the “fence”

Sometimes it is enough to practice the position of the lips in a smile, without closing when “steamboat” or “sail”. If your lips close and you hear “B,” then you need to push your lips apart with your fingers or constantly remind yourself of the “fence.” It is good if the client always looks at the position of his speech organs in the mirror, since visual control helps to understand in what position the sound is easier and clearer to pronounce.

And you definitely need to smile. A good mood is the key to success. And finally Mickey managed to buzz. His parents heard and buzzed in response. The little boat was delighted, waved the turkeys goodbye with an oar, thanked them for their help and sailed home joyful and satisfied.

After the sound L is established, we need to move on to automating it in syllables, words and sentences. Read the following articles about this and stay tuned to the blog. I wish you all the best, see you soon!

Paralambdacism

This term refers to the replacement of the correct “l” sound with another. For example:

“g” – pronounced “kogeno” instead of “knee”
“v” – pronounced “stov” instead of “table”
“e” – pronounced “yokot” instead of “elbow”
“l” – pronounced “lyozhka” instead of “spoon”

All these flaws in pronunciation can be treated by regularly doing exercises with a speech therapist and at home. Specialists are often expensive, but there are cases when just one lesson with a doctor on speech production gives a positive result, and consolidation can already be done at home.

Mistakes when trying to pronounce "l"

Among the errors when pronouncing “l” there are the most common ones. They occur in both children and adults, but it is best to correct them at a young age, when the speech apparatus is just subject to adjustment. The most popular mistakes:

Instead of “l” it sounds “y”. For example, the word “lie down” will be pronounced “yoozhsya”. This happens because the tongue is pulled too far into the depths of the oral cavity.
Instead of “l”, a combination of “uva” sounds is pronounced. So, “took” will turn into “took”. The lips are placed incorrectly here.
Replacing “l” with the sound “r”. For example, “medicine” instead of “medicine”.
Instead of “l”, a sound similar to “f” or “n” is heard. This occurs due to a sharp, forced exhalation and participation in the articulation of the cheeks or nose.

Reasons for difficulties in pronouncing the sound “l”

Most sounds are perfectly mastered by a child by the age of 4-4.5 years.
If you notice that your baby is having difficulty pronouncing several letters or one “l” sound, look for the reasons. One of the factors may be a speech defect in an adult who is in constant contact with the baby. The child imitates the speech of mom or dad.

Pronunciation problems have also been observed in children growing up in bilingual families. It is difficult for a child to master two languages at once; he gets confused and replaces the sounds of one language with the sounds of another.

Among the physiological reasons we note the following:

disorders that arise during the development of speech hearing (the child hears sounds incorrectly);
pathologies of the hearing aid and speech breathing;
changes in the structure of the articular apparatus (in the case of the sound “l” this may be a shortened frenulum).

All anatomical changes are determined by a specialist. Self-diagnoses often lead to incorrect treatment and worsening of the defect.

If your child is diagnosed with a shortened frenulum, there is no need to worry. For a long time, the defect was corrected using an incision, but today a new technique has been developed in which the frenulum is stretched to the required size using special exercises.