simple?

[Unregistered]

I am an ESL student. I pronounce the word simple as if it were written SIMPOL. Am I right? I have the same problems with apple, little, single, ect.
If indeed is an O sound the one I should be making where my tongue ought to be located.

[Mister Micawber]

The unstressed liquid /l/ has almost no vowel sound, so it should be minimized as much as possible-- simple drop your relaxed lower jaw fractionally to allow the air to escape. The tongue is relaxed except for the tip, which presses gently against the inner base of the lower front teeth.

[Casiopea]

I am an ESL student. I pronounce the word simple as if it were written SIMPOL. Am I right? I have the same problems with apple, little, single, ect.
If indeed is an O sound the one I should be making where my tongue ought to be located.

Additionally, final [l] can indeed sound like "OL", but that's not how [l] is pronounced. Try the words play, ploy, planet. Notice there is no vowel between the [p] and the [l] sounds. [l] is syllabic, or rather, it doesn't function as a consonant (a hard sound). It functions like a vowel. You can sing it!

First, try maintaining or holding [l] as you pronounce it. Use these words:

like
lay
let
link

Second, add [p]:

play
please
plot

Third, now try word final [l]:

apple
ample
sample
simple

All the best,

[LEB]

How would you pronounce PL by itself?

[Marylin]

How would you pronounce PL by itself?

Again, have a look at the way American L is pronounced at this site:

http://www.americanaccent.com/pronunciation.html#L

If you have a combination of p and l, try to put a little shwa sound before l. It will almost sound like w so ample will sound like /ampw/

[Casiopea]

How would you pronounce PL by itself?

Welcome, LEB.

Pronounce [p], then pronounce [l]. [l] is syllabic, so you should be able to sing it:

[pl], [pl], [pl]