In American English the /l/ is referred to as a “liquid” sound. That’s because when you articulate this sound the tip of your tongue touches the ridge behind your upper teeth and the air flows through the sides of your tongue.

When /l/ comes after certain vowel sounds American English speakers will insert a schwa sound between the stressed vowel and the /l/. This may sound like an extra syllable. Here are some examples:

The word feel sounds like fee-əl.

The word mail sounds like mai-əl.

The word smile sounds like smi-əl.

The word school sounds like schoo-əl.