How to Make Speech Sounds

/p/ - Lips together. Air is quickly released out of the mouth. The vocal folds do not
vibrate.
Fingers on top line, feel the air exhale under the fingers.
/b/ - Lips together. Air is quickly released out of the mouth. The vocal folds vibrate.
Fingers on top lip, feel the air exhale under the fingers.
/t/ - The tongue tip touches the top of the mouth, behind the front teeth. Air is quickly
released.
The vocal folds do not vibrate.
/d/ - The tongue tip touches the top of the ridge behind the upper front teeth. Air is
quickly released. The vocal folds vibrate.
Fingers on top teeth.
/k/ - A back of the mouth sound. The back of the tongue touches the soft palate (the soft
bit on the roof of the mouth, towards the back), and the air is quickly released. The vocal
folds do not vibrate.
Palm flat and held just in front of the mouth so child can feel air expel.
/g/ - A back of the mouth sound. The back of the tongue touches the soft palate and is
quickly released. The vocal folds vibrate.
Hand holds throat, feel the vibration.
/f/ - Bite your lower lip with your top teeth and slowly release the air. The vocal folds
dont vibrate.
Fingers on top lip and feel air exhale below the fingers.
/v/ - Bite your lower lip with your top teeth and slowly release the air. The vocal folds
vibrate.
Fingers on bottom lip (feel it vibrate.)
/m/ - Lips are closed together. Air is released through the nose.
Fingers flat over lips.
/n/ - Tongue tip on the ridge behind the top front teeth. Air is released through the nose.
Fingers on top teeth.
/ng/ - The back of the tongue touches the soft palate. Air is released through the nose.
Hand holds throat, feel the vibration.
/l/ - Tongue tip touches the ridge behind the upper front teeth, then quickly flicks down.
Fingers on top teeth.

/w/ - Use rounded lips.

Fingers flat over mouth, feel lips vibrate.

/y/ - Tongue tip points down, behind the front teeth.

Fingers on top lip and feel air exhale below the fingers.
/s/ - The tip of the tongue rests behind the front teeth. Air is slowly released. The vocal
folds do not vibrate.
Palm flat just in front of the mouth so child can feel air expel.
/z/ - The tip of the tongue rests behind the front teeth. Air is slowly released. The vocal
folds vibrate.
Palm flat just in front of the mouth so child can feel air expel.
/sh/ - Use rounded lips to slowly release the air. The vocal folds dont vibrate.
Palm flat just in front of the mouth so child can feel air expel.
/ch/ - The tongue tip touches the ridge behind the upper front teeth. Air is slowly
released. Lips are rounded. Vocal folds dont vibrate.
Palm flat just in front of the mouth so child can feel air expel.
/j/ - The tongue tip touches the ridge behind the upper front teeth. Air is slowly released.
Vocal folds vibrate.
Palm flat just in front of the mouth so child can feel air expel.
/th/ - The tongue is between the teeth and air is slowly released.
Palm flat just in front of the mouth so child can feel air expel.
/r/ - It is a bit tricky to describe. Most children who cannot say this sound will say a /w/
sound instead. The difference is that /r/ has straight lips and /w/ has rounded lips.
Fingers on top lip.
/x/ - A blend of /k/ + /s/
Palm flat just in front of the mouth so child can feel air expel.
/h/ - Tongue tip points down, behind the front teeth.
Palm flat just in front of the mouth so child can feel air expel

Vowels
The vowel sounds are not listed because they are difficult to describe in writting. The
main difference between vowels tends to be the slight change in how far forwards or

backwards the tongue is, and how rounded or spread the lips are. Consonants tend to
have more distinct tongue placements.
To help form each vowel sound, try thinking about some key words. For example, the first
sound for:
apple /a/
orange /o/
umbrella /u/
egg /e/
insect /i/
To feel the vowel sounds, place the palm flat just in front of the mouth so child can feel
the air expel.
**Be conscious to model and also expect the children to pronounce clean sounds. For
example: /ch/ and /f/, not /chu/ and /fa/ /sh/ and /t/, not /shuh/ and /tuh/.