Vocabulary

Objective & content

A printable memory game on clothes for absolute beginners (A1-): twelve pairs including hat, coat, skirt, jeans, gloves and t-shirt. Each pair joins an illustration to the written word and its phonetic transcription; students turn the cards face down, match them and say the item aloud to claim the pair. By the end, they recognise and say the twelve clothing words.

Pedagogical guide

Clothes are easy to picture and harder to say. Memory brings each word back without a drill, and saying it aloud makes pronunciation part of the game. Five words are always plural in English: trousers, jeans, socks, gloves and shoes (my trousers are black), which French and German speakers often miss; a t-shirt keeps its hyphen. Use the deck after an oral presentation of the theme and before written work.

Suggested procedure

1. (5 min) Lay one set face up. Say each item, students repeat; stress the five plural-only words.
2. (5 min) Turn the cards face down in a grid and model one turn aloud: "A hat... and a skirt. No match."
3. (15 min) Groups of three or four play. A pair only counts if the player says the word aloud; partners check the phonetic transcription and may ask for a second try.
4. (5 min) Close as a class: show a picture card, the class says the word, then a volunteer spells it.

Adaptations

[S] Play with 8 pairs only and keep the word cards face up as a word bank.

[A] The winner says a sentence (I wear a coat in winter.).

Materials & prerequisites

Print the two card sheets once per group of three or four and cut out the 24 cards; laminate them to reuse the deck. Students should have met the theme once orally.