Guided Practice Script

Let’s learn to make the /g/ sounds. Let’s start with /k/.  It sounds like a tiny cough.  Now turn your voice on and make a growling sound: /k/ to /g/.

Let’s make the /g/ sound together!  Now listen to mine:  /g/ … /g/.  Okay now you try it again.  Great job copying me!

Let’s try to make it another way.  Now pull your tongue way back, like it’s hiding in a little cave.  Turn your voice on, like a motor is buzzing.  Ready?  /g/

Now let’s pretend you’re a gorilla and pound your chest like them … say /g/ three times then finally “gorilla”.  Excellent job!

Let’s try saying these words: go, gum, game, ghost. Now your turn… You’re doing an awesome job!

Targeted Techniques and Considerations

We used different ways to make the /g/ sound by using the listen and copy method (i.e., imitation), also helper sounds to shape the /g/ (i.e., sound approximation), and finally we used metaphors to get the correct sound /g/. Home practice can include wordplay during car rides, where parents ask the child to name all the /g/ words they can think of.

Common Errors

• /g/ is often replaced with /d/ (i.e., velar fronting)

Variations

• /g/ is generally stable across dialects