The /ng/ sound is a single, distinct consonant sound, even though it is spelled with two letters and sounds similar to /n/. Like the /n/ sound, /ng/ is a nasal sound. This means that the air passes through the nasal passage instead of through the mouth when making the sound. To make this sound, lift the back of your tongue against the soft …
How to Teach the F Sound by Chicago Speech Therapy
In order to make the /f/ sound, all that is required is to rest your front teeth lightly on your bottom lip and blow. The /f/ sound is a voiceless sound, so you are simply passing air through your mouth. You do not need to vibrate your vocal cords at all. Children usually master this sound by age four, so if your …
How to Teach the Y Sound by Chicago Speech Therapy
The /y/ consonant sound is made by placing the tip of the tongue just behind the lower front teeth and raising the middle of the tongue towards the roof of the mouth. The sides of the tongue actually come in contact with the top of the mouth, but the middle of the tongue does not touch the roof, creating a passageway for air …
How to Teach the R Sound by Chicago Speech Therapy
The /r/ sound is a particularly tricky letter to teach because the way your mouth produces the sound changes depending on the other letters it is combined with. In fact, there are 8 different vocalizations of the letter /r/: /ar/, /air/, /ear/, /ire/, /or/, /er/, /rl/, and the simple /r/ by itself. Furthermore, the sound of each vocalization is affected by its placement …
How to Teach the L Sound by Chicago Speech Therapy
The /l/ sound is made by placing the tip of your tongue on your alveolar ridge, the small bump on the roof of your mouth just behind your front teeth. The sides of the tongue do not touch other parts of your mouth, and the air travels around your tongue to produce the sound. The /l/ sound is a voiced sound, so your …
How to Teach the S Sound by Chicago Speech Therapy
The /s/ sound is made by placing the tip of your tongue just behind the front teeth, very close to the roof of the mouth but not touching it. The sides of the tongue are raised to touch the roof of the mouth, leaving a passage for air down the middle of the tongue. The sides of the tongue should also rest against …
How to Teach the CH Sound by Chicago Speech Therapy
The /ch/ sound is actually a combination of the /t/ and the /sh/ sound. To make the sound, begin with your teeth together and bring the tip of your tongue to the small ridge just behind the front teeth. The corners of the lips are puller together so the lips pucker. This is a voiceless stop consonant, which means that the sound comes …
How to Teach the SH Sound by Chicago Speech Therapy
The /sh/ sound is made by putting the teeth together and bringing the corners of the lips towards the middle, so the lips pucker like a kiss. The middle of the tongue comes up only slightly and barely touches the corners of the top teeth without touching the roof of the mouth. The front of the tongue dips down a tiny bit, but …
How to Teach the Z Sound by Chicago Speech Therapy
The /z/ sound uses the same mouth position as the /s/ sound, but the /z/ sound is voiced whereas the /s/ sound is unvoiced. This means that the passage of air through your mouth combines with the vibration of your vocal cords to create the sound. To position your mouth, place the tip of your tongue behind your teeth and very close to …
How to Teach the J Sound by Chicago Speech Therapy
The /j/ sound is made with the exact same mouth positioning as the /ch/ sound, but the /j/ sound is voiced. This means that the sound is produced comes from both the vibration of the vocal cords and from the movement of air through the mouth. To make the sound, put your teeth together and pull the corners of your lips to the …