You ask for "milk," but it comes out "MEE-loo-kuh," and the cashier looks puzzled. You say "people" as "PEE-pel" with a sharp, bright L, or "feel" as "fee-loo." Many languages have only one kind of L, often a bright one, and they may add a vowel after it. American English has two L sounds: a light L at the start of a syllable and a dark L at the end. In this episode: • The light l • The dark l • L IN GROUPS: milk, help, world • The silent l • Listening lab: setting the table • Practice • Self-check questions with answers Key phrases from this episode: lamp (LAMP) — Turn on the lamp. lunch (LUNCH) — What's for lunch? lemon (LEH-mun) — a slice of lemon laundry (LAWN-dree) — I'll do the laundry. look (LUUK) — Look at this! leave (LEEV) — We leave at eight. glass (GLAS) — a glass of milk family (FAM-uh-lee) — the whole family feel (FEEUHL) — I don't feel well. cool (KOOL) — It's cool outside. school (SKOOL) — after school ball (BAWL) — Throw the ball. fill (FIL) — Fill the pot with water. full (FUUL) — I'm full, thanks. people (PEE-pul) — a lot of people table (TAY-bul) — Set the table. apple (AP-ul) — an apple a day bottle (BAH-dl) — a bottle of water milk (MILK) — We're out of milk. help (HELP) — Can you help me? cold (KOHLD) — The soup's cold. self (SELF) — Help yourself. (polite: please take some) shelf (SHELF) — on the top shelf salt (SAWLT) — Pass the salt, please. already (awl-RED-ee) — I already ate. always (AWL-wayz) — She always calls on Sunday. world (WURLD) — the best mom in the world walk (WAWK) — Let's take a walk. talk (TAWK) — Can we talk? half (HAF) — half an hour Season 2 · Real American English: the complete spoken course for learners worldwide — accent, everyday grammar, prepositions, articles, phrasal verbs, idioms, slang and real conversations at home. Listen, repeat out loud, then take the 52-question quiz. Audio voiced with AI from an original script by Dr. Rashmi R Nair.