Producing /ɫ/

How to produce /ɫ/

After a vowel, English /l/ pulls the back of the tongue up and back. It's the 'dark' variant. Say 'leaf' (clear /l/ — bright) then 'feel' (dark /l/ — the tongue root tenses). Many L2 speakers use the clear /l/ everywhere, which sounds un-American.

Practice the sound in isolation

Say 'ball' slowly. Hold the target sound. Record yourself — does it match your mental model of the native version?

A few varied words

• Initial: leaf, light, live
• Medial: yellow, pillow, hello
• Final: full, feel, ball