CL Blend: Speech Therapy Guide, Words & Games
The /cl/ blend is written /kl/ in the phonetic alphabet, and most children master it by age 6. This guide covers how to make the /cl/ blend, 28 practice words split across initial and medial position, and the errors children make most often.
Example CL Blend words: close, clear, clean, class (beginning); quickly, including, basically, likely (middle).
The /cl/ blend joins the /k/ and /l/ sounds — the "cl" in clock, clean, climb and cloud. The back of the tongue lifts for the /k/ and then the tip has to come up for the /l/, so the tongue has to travel from the back of the mouth to the front.
How to Make the CL Blend
Because the tongue moves a long way, slow the two halves right down: "kuh…luh…clock", then speed up. Listen for the /l/ being dropped altogether ("cock" for "clock") or replaced with a /w/, both of which point back to the /l/ singleton.
IPA Symbol: /kl/
Most children master the /cl/ blend by age 6. Blends arrive after the sounds they are made of: the /K/ and /L/ sounds each have to be reliable on their own before the cluster will hold, which is also the order to practise them in. Two-sound blends are generally in place somewhere between ages 4 and 7, tracking the sounds inside them — the ones containing /L/ or /R/ come in later than the rest.
Common CL Blend Errors
- Cluster reduction — producing only the /K/ sound and dropping the rest of the blend. This is by far the most common blend error.
- Cluster reduction — producing only the /L/ sound and dropping the rest of the blend. This is by far the most common blend error.
- Gliding — the /L/ inside the blend turning into a /W/, so the cluster keeps both sounds but loses the /L/.
CL Blend Word Lists by Position
Practice these words organized by where the /cl/ sound appears. Start with the position your child finds easiest, or open the complete CL Blend word list.
Initial CL Blend Words
/cl/ at the beginning of words
Medial CL Blend Words
/cl/ in the middle of words
More CL Blend Word Lists & Resources
Related Sounds
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