Speakers of different first languages often face unique pronunciation challenges when learning English — especially when a sound doesn’t exist in their native language. One common difficulty for many learners from parts of Asia is distinguishing between the English sounds /r/ and /l/.
A click-through sample of a teacher-led session that is meant to help Asian speakers with the correct pronunciation of the sounds /r/ and /l/.
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In several Asian languages, these two sounds are not clearly separated, and the closest equivalent is a single sound produced somewhere between them. As a result, listeners may become confused, because what the speaker intends as /r/ may sound like /l/, and vice versa.
To support learners who struggle with this, the following lesson first helps students hear and recognise the difference between the two sounds. It then guides them to analyse how the mouth, tongue, and lips move to produce /r/ and /l/ accurately in English.
