My Fwend | Imamother

amother

Mon, Sep 11 2023, 5:51 am

My delicious Israel-born children cannot say "R". Ages 3-9 all pronounce it as "W". It's cute and normal in the 3yo, but as they get older, it sticks and sounds less cute. I was told speech therapists here (in Israel) can't help with this. Some of the kids don't speak much English anyway so it doesn't come up much, but some do. I tried showing them in a mirror. If they curve their lips and try really hard it comes out a tiny drop better. But not much. They just can't make that sound. Any advice? How can I teach them?

juggling

Mon, Sep 11 2023, 6:50 am

I think you shouldn't pressure them. Depending on where in Israel you live, you can find an english-speaking speech therapist and pay privately, but I also think it may not be worth it. Your kids are israeli and if they sound a little funny in English, their English is still way better than the average Israeli kid's. On the other hand, if it bothers them they can work on it as they get older.

amother

Ghostwhite

Mon, Sep 11 2023, 7:22 am

Go to an anglo speech therapist.
Ds, now age 24, very cutely could not pronounce "r" -- he would also pronounce it with a "w" sound, worse was that there is an R is in his name. Around age 6, took him to an anglo speech therapist and in about 2 or 3 sessions, that was it.

Good luck!

mom of 8

Mon, Sep 11 2023, 7:55 am

Maybe teach them to say it with rolling the reish sound. Sounds better than w. Rrr

Last edited by mom of 8 on Mon, Sep 11 2023, 7:56 am; edited 2 times in total

Elfrida

Mon, Sep 11 2023, 7:55 am

How do they cope with the ר sound? Israelis tend to roll it much more, so it could be they are having trouble with the shorter r sound in English, and substitute a different sound.

amother

Lightblue

Mon, Sep 11 2023, 8:06 am

I've had more than one child in English-speaking speech therapy through my kupa. It certainly exists.