ESL Clothing Activities and Games | Fun ESL Clothes Games to Try Out

Are you looking to spice up the ESL clothing unit a little bit with some fresh, new games and activities? Then you’ll certainly want to keep on reading! You can find these, along with clothes ESL worksheets, lesson plans and more. Keep on reading for all the details that you need to know about clothes ESL.

ESL Clothing Games and Activities for All Ages

Are you ready for ESL clothes activities? It’s a popular word category in most ESL textbooks for beginners. Let’s get to it!

#1: Flyswatter Whiteboard Game

If you want to have some serious fun in your English class, then you’ll want to consider trying out the Flyswatter Game. The way it works is that you write a bunch of clothing-related vocabulary words in a random fashion on the board.

Then, divide the class into two teams. One student from each team comes to the front and gets a flyswatter. You can give hints about a certain word and the first student to hit that word gets a point for their team. Start your hints off as more general and then get to more specific. For example:

• I’m wearing them right now
• They’re on the lower half of my body
• They aren’t next to my skin

Answer: Shoes!

Do you want to try out this fun ESL game with your students? You can get all the details here: ESL Flyswatter Game.

#2: A to Z Alphabet Game

If you know that students have learned a good amount of clothing vocabulary, you could use this as a quick warm-up to start the clothing unit off. Or, you could consider using it for review at the end of class.

The way it works is that you put students into pairs and they have to write the alphabet on a piece of paper. Then, they have to think of 1 item of clothing for each letter, or as many as they can in the allotted time. For example:

H=Hat

P=Pants

S= Shirt

T= T-shirt

The winner is the team with the most words on their list. Does it sound like a quick game that you want to check out? Find out more about it right here: ESL Alphabet Game.

#3: Password ESL Clothes Game

Create some excitement and fun in your classes with this vocabulary activity that’s perfect for clothing. The way it works is that you put the class into two teams. The first team sends someone up to the front. You can write a secret word on the board behind them (in this case, an article of clothing). Then, their team has to describe it to them and they must guess the word.

It’s perfect for a review day where you want to play a fun game, but still, make it educational. Find out all the details here:

Password ESL Vocabulary Game.

#4 ESL Clothing Game: Odd One Out

Try out this quick warmer or review activity for clothing with your students. The way it works is that you think of four things, 3 of which are similar and 1 that is different. For example:

• shirt, sweater, pants, jacket

Students have to choose which one doesn’t belong and then say why. There are many possible answers and it’s often a matter of opinion, but the key is that students have to support their answer. Here’s one:

Pants because it’s worn on the bottom, not on top.

Learn more about this clothing ESL activity here: Odd One Out ESL Warmer.

Or, you could also use this activity for talking about shopping and general categories of things you might buy such as electronics, clothes, food, etc. More ideas here: ESL Shopping Activities.

#5: ESL Clothes Videos

If you take a look on English Central or YouTube, you’ll find that there is a video for basically every single thing you’d ever want or hope to teach in your English classes. Of course, clothing is no exception.

Except there is far more to making the best use of them than just hitting play and hoping for the best. Find out more about how to get the most out of videos here: Using Videos in TEFL Classes.

#6 ESL Clothing Warmer: Picture Prompt

This is perhaps the ultimate clothes ESL activity! The way it works is that you choose a picture that has lots of people wearing lots of different clothing items. Then, what you do depends on the level. Beginners can just shout out clothing-related words, while more advanced students can make full sentences based on what they see.

Do you want to know more? Check it out here: Picture Prompt ESL Warm-Up.

#7: Concentration Memory Game

If you’re teaching beginners, then you may want to try out this memory game. The way it works is that you make matching cards with clothing vocab and the English word. I usually make 8 matching pairs, or 16 cards in total.

Then, put students into groups of four and they have to lay the cards face down in an organized fashion. The first student turns over two cards and sees if they match. If they do, they take them and get one point and can go again. If not, they put them back into the same spot.

Find out more details about this memory game here: Concentration ESL Game.

Oh yeah, the best part? You can use this game for just about any grammar or vocabulary topic that you’re teaching. For example, if you teach articles, you might consider using it for an item of clothing on one card, and then the matching article on the other one.

#8: Just One Question Survey Activity

Just One Question is a nice activity to get students up and out of their seats, talking to their classmates. The way it works is that each pair thinks of only one question related to the topic of clothing. For example, “What’s your favourite thing to wear? Why?”

Then, they have to survey a number of their classmates, compile and tabulate the results and then report back to the class. Check out this ESL survey activity here: Just 1 Question.

If you want to explore the other side of the coin, check this out: Buy Nothing Day ESL Lesson Plan Ideas.

#9: Typhoon Game

The ideal way to review just about anything, including clothes vocabulary is with the typhoon game. Have a look here to find out what it’s all about:

#10: Word Association Vocabulary Activity

If you know that students already know a good amount of clothing words, then you may want to consider using this word association activity. It’s basically creating a mind map with fashion or clothing-related words and then organizing them in some sort of way.

I like to use it as a quick warm-up, or even a little review at the end of class. You can learn more about it here: Word Association ESL Vocabulary Activity.

#11: 10 Questions

Have you played the game 20 questions before? This is a version of that based only on clothing articles, and because it’s such a narrow topic, with only 10 questions. It’s perfect for helping your students work on simple yes/no questions. Try it out today!

#12: ESL Clothing Quiz

Try out fun quiz for clothes vocabulary with your students:

#12: Clothes ESL Small Group Discussion

If you ask your students what they want to do in an English conversation or speaking class, they’ll usually say discussion or free talking. But, if you tell your students to talk about fashion or clothing, you may be met with blank stares and silence! I’m sure you’ve had this happen to you before if you’ve been teaching a while.

There are a few things you can do to make discussion time, about whatever topic go much more smoothly. So, before you decide to have a free-flowing English conversation about what people like to wear, consider reading these top tips first:

ESL Small Group Discussion Tips.

#14: Clothing and Comparative/Superlative Adjectives

A common topic for comparative and superlative adjectives (big/bigger/biggest, long/longer/longest) is clothing. If you think about it, the possibilities are almost endless for sentences that your students could make! For example:

My jacket is more colourful than her sweater.

His pants are longer than mine.

Jen’s socks are bigger than Jane’s.

If you want to see some of the top games and activities you can use to help your students out with these kinds of adjectives, then check out the following recommendations:

Comparatives and Adjectives Activities.

#15: Hot Potato ESL Clothing Activity

A fun activity you can try out with clothing-related vocabulary is hot potato. The way it works is that you have students pass around an object for a random amount of time. You could choose an amount of time on your cellphone countdown timer for example.

Then, whoever is holding the object at the end of the allotted time has to make a sentence of some kind. In this case, you’d want to show the student a flashcard (a t-shirt). They would have to make a true sentence. For example:

I’m wearing a blue t-shirt today.

Or, you could use it to work on both clothing and possessive adjectives. For example, My shirt is yellow. His shirt is green. Etc.

#16: Vocabulary Auction

#17: Quantifiers Activities and Games

In a lot of ESL or EFL textbooks, the unit on quantifiers (many/much, some, a lot of, etc.) is often combined with clothing. There are many possible applications. For example:

• There are a lot of nice clothes in this shop!
• It’s a little bit too short.
• There isn’t much good stuff in here.

If you want to see some of our top picks for things you can do with quantifiers, you’ll want to check out the following:

ESL Quantifier Activities. 

#18: Dictogloss Clothing ESL Activity

An ESL clothing activity that you might consider is dictogloss. It can be used for just about any topic if you find a related reading passage. In this case, it could be someone talking about their recent shopping trip. Or, talking about what they normally wear to work or school.

Put students into pairs and read it out at a faster pace than normal. Students can take notes and try to recreate what they heard. Then, read it again and students do the same. Finally, they compare their version with the original one. Learn more about it:

Dictogloss ESL Listening and Writing Activity.

#19: Dialogue Substitution 

#20: Dictation Clothes ESL Activity

Dictation is a useful ESL activity for a variety of reasons beyond just the actual target vocabulary words or grammar. It also helps students with spelling, punctuation and listening skills.

For beginners, you could just say the word and students have to write it down in their notebooks. For more advanced learners, you may want to say an entire sentence with some of the target ESL clothes vocabulary in it.

#21: Chain Spelling ESL Clothes Game

A fun, easy way to review the spelling of clothing vocabulary is chain spelling. Have all the students stand up and then say a target vocabulary word. Students spell out the word, letter by letter and if they miss, they sit down and are out. Continue until only 1-2 students are left standing (depending on how big your class is).

#22: Elicit ESL Clothes Vocabulary

Unless your students are absolute beginners, it’s likely they already know a good amount of clothing words already. If this is the case, use some eliciting to find out what words they know. This can show you what you need to focus your class on plus it helps students activate their prior knowledge to make learning new words easier.

There are a number of ways to do this in TEFL classes. Find out about it here: ESL Eliciting.

#23: Running Dictation 

#25: Adjectives for Describing Appearance

Clothing has a big role in describing someone. For example:

• She’s wearing a red jacket.
• He has brown hair and is wearing a green shirt.

For some of my favorite activities for this unit, have a look here:

Describing Appearance Adjectives ESL Activities. 

#26: Flip Chart Clothing Vocabulary Review Game

#27: Dress-up Relay Race

Divide the class into teams. Prepare a pile of clothing items at one end of the room and an empty suitcase or box at the other end. Give each team a turn to race to the clothing pile, choose an item, put it on, and run back to the suitcase to pack it. The first team to pack all the items wins.

#28: Fashion Show

Have students work in pairs or small groups. Provide them with old magazines, scissors, and glue sticks. Ask them to create a collage of outfits using the clothing items they find in the magazines. Once they finish, have them present their fashion creations to the class, describing each item of clothing in English.

#29: Fashion Designer Challenge

Give each student a piece of paper and some colored pencils or markers. Instruct them to design their own clothing line by drawing different outfits. They should label each item of clothing with its name. Afterward, students can take turns presenting their designs and explaining the inspiration behind their creations.

#30: Shopping Spree Role Play

Divide the class into pairs, with one student playing the role of a shopkeeper and the other as a customer. Provide a set of clothing flashcards or pictures for the shopkeeper to display. The customer must describe the type of clothing they want, ask about its price, and negotiate a deal. After a few minutes, have the pairs switch roles.

Clothes ESL Worksheets

Are you looking for some ESL clothes worksheets? Here are some of our go-to sources:

ISL Collective

Boggles World ESL

Online Practice for ESL Clothes

If you want to recommend some online practice and clothes games to your students, then here are two top-quality resources:

ESL Games Plus

Games to Learn English

Lesson Plans for ESL Clothes

And finally, if you want some ready-made lesson plans for ESL clothing, then here are some of the best ones so you can just print and go. Yes, it really is that easy sometimes with a clothes ESL lesson.

ESL Kids Stuff

Lingua House

ESL Clothes Vocabulary

If you’re looking for a quick ESL vocabulary list for clothing and fashion, here’s a simple one to use:

• dress
• skirt
• jacket
• raincoat
• jeans
• pants
• shorts
• shirt
• sweater
• sweatshirt
• t-shirt
• underwear
• pajamas
• bathing suit
• socks
• sneakers
• boots
• sandals
• slippers

FAQs

There are a number of common questions that people have about teaching the clothes unit to English learners. Here are the answers to some of the most popular ones.

Why is teaching the clothes unit important for English learners?

Teaching the clothes unit is important for English learners as it helps them develop vocabulary related to clothing, understand clothing-related expressions, and engage in conversations about personal style and fashion.

What are some key vocabulary words to teach in the clothes unit?

Some key vocabulary words to teach in the clothes unit include shirt, pants, dress, skirt, shoes, hat, jacket, sweater, socks, and shorts, among others.

How can teachers introduce clothing vocabulary to English learners?

Teachers can introduce clothing vocabulary to English learners through visual aids like flashcards or real clothing items, interactive activities like dress-up games or fashion shows, or by discussing personal clothing preferences and styles.

What are some activities to practice clothing vocabulary with English learners?

Some activities to practice clothing vocabulary with English learners include matching games, categorizing clothing items by seasons or occasions, describing outfits or dressing up paper dolls, and creating fashion magazines or lookbooks.

How can teachers teach clothing-related expressions to English learners?

Teachers can teach clothing-related expressions to English learners by providing examples, role-playing scenarios, or engaging in conversations about clothing choices and preferences.

What cultural aspects can be explored while teaching the clothes unit? While teaching the clothes unit, teachers can explore cultural aspects such as traditional clothing from different countries, fashion trends, dress codes, and cultural influences on clothing choices.

How can teachers assess students’ understanding of the clothes unit?

Teachers can assess students’ understanding of the clothes unit by conducting vocabulary quizzes, engaging in role-plays or conversations about clothing, or by assigning projects or presentations related to clothing and fashion.

How can teachers make the clothes unit more engaging for English learners?

Teachers can make the clothes unit more engaging for English learners by incorporating interactive activities, real-life examples, multimedia resources like videos or songs about clothing, and encouraging creativity through fashion design or styling tasks.

How can the clothes unit be integrated with other language skills?

The clothes unit can be integrated with other language skills by incorporating reading activities about fashion or clothing, writing tasks such as describing outfits or creating fashion advertisements, listening exercises related to clothing preferences, and speaking activities about personal style and fashion choices.

Did you Like these Fashion Activities? 

Yes? Thought so! Then the book you’re going to love is this one over on Amazon: 39 ESL Vocabulary Activities for Kids. It’s the book you need if you want some fresh, new ideas for teaching English vocabulary.

The key to better English classes with kids (or adults too) is a wide variety of interesting, engaging activities and this book will help you do just that. In style too! You can make it through an entire semester and not run out of the good stuff.

You can find the book on Amazon in both digital and print formats. Keep a copy on the bookshelf in your office and use it as a handy reference guide. Or, download the free Kindle reading app and take the digital version with you to your favourite coffee shop for lesson planning on the go.

It really is that easy to have better English lessons! Check out the book for yourself today:

Have your say about these ESL Clothing Activities

What are your thoughts about these fun fashion activities for ESL? Have you tried one of them from the list, or do you have another that you’d like to recommend? Leave a comment below and let us know what you think. We’d love to hear from you.

Also be sure to give this article a share on Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter. It’ll help other busy teachers, like yourself find this useful resource.

Last update on 2022-07-17 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API