Teaching · Speech and Language

Ring, not wing.
Pairs for /r/ and /l/.

When a child glides, /r/ and /l/ come out as /w/ or /y/: “ring” sounds like “wing” and “less” like “yes”. Deal minimal pairs by sound and word length, each with a sentence that needs the target and what both words mean.

Make a set of pairsWhat you get
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Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the Speech & Language toolkit, $79 for 88 items.

Make a set of gliding pairs

The worked example is made up: a four-year-old on /l/ and a first grader on /r/. Saved on this device only.

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What you get

Teaching · Speech & Language$12 · included with Classroom and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
A set of 6, 10 or 16 minimal pairs for gliding, chosen by sound (/r/ to /w/, /l/ to /w/, /l/ to /y/) and word length, each with a target sentence and what both words mean, plus notes on how practice went.
Who it is for
School and clinic speech-language pathologists and speech-language pathology assistants, and the teachers and families they hand home practice to.
Format
Browser card maker with saved sets. Prints the cards as a cut-out sheet or a list for home practice; presents one card at a time for a screen or a tablet at the table; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
$12 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Also in the Speech & Language toolkit ($79) and the Teaching Suite pass ($199), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Speech & Language space in Caveat Teaching.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Choose one sound pair; /l/ often comes before /r/.
  2. Listen first: say a word and the student points to its card.
  3. Then the student says a word and you respond to exactly what you hear.
  4. Pair the words with a placement cue: tongue tip up for /l/, lips not rounded for /r/.
  5. Note what worked and print the cards for home.

Make a set of pairs

What gliding is

Liquids slide into glides/r/Tongue pulled back andbunched or tip curledGliding gives /w/, withrounded lips/l/Tongue tip up behind thetop teethGliding gives /w/ or /y//w/ and /y/Glides: easier mouthshapesLips round for /w/;tongue middle up for /y/Liquids slide into glides/r/Tongue pulled back and bunched or tip curledGliding gives /w/, with rounded lips/l/Tongue tip up behind the top teethGliding gives /w/ or /y//w/ and /y/Glides: easier mouth shapesLips round for /w/; tongue middle up for /y/
Drawn for this page. Gliding usually fades by about five; /r/ can settle later still.

Why it happens

/r/ and /l/ need precise tongue shapes. /w/ and /y/ are made with simpler shapes, so young children use them in their place.

A late pattern

Gliding is one of the last patterns to fade, usually by about five. A four-year-old saying “wabbit” is common; an eight-year-old still doing it usually needs a plan.

Some cards are near-pairs

A few two-syllable cards pair a real word with a made-up one (lady and “wady”). They show the student that the glided word is not a word the listener knows.

Sources

  1. Weiner, F. (1981). Treatment of phonological disability using the method of meaningful minimal contrast: Two case studies. Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, 46(1), 97 to 103. PMID 7206686.
  2. Dodd, B., Holm, A., Hua, Z., & Crosbie, S. (2003). Phonological development: A normative study of British English-speaking children. Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics, 17(8), 617 to 643. PMID 14977026.
  3. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Practice Portal: Speech Sound Disorders: Articulation and Phonology (asha.org/practice-portal).
  4. Bowen, C. (2015). Children’s Speech Sound Disorders (2nd ed.). Wiley-Blackwell. Phonological processes and typical ages of elimination.

Word pairs, sentences and meanings were written for this page; the example sets and students are made up. Ages are rough guides from published norms and vary with the child and the dialect. The cards support practice a speech-language pathologist plans; they do not assess or diagnose. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.