Ticket Exchange - an Activity to Introduce New Vocabulary

When I first started teaching, I would introduce new vocabulary words by passing out a list, reading down the list and perhaps having students repeat the words.  I'll admit that I do occasionally do this-- after all, research says that students who read through a vocabulary list at the beginning of the unit do retain vocabulary better.  But I do notice that student attention flags after five to ten words. 

I asked myself what I want out of this initial contact with the new vocabulary.  I want students to:

• learn to pronounce and recognize the words
• link each word if possible to some way to remember it.  Is it related to a word we've studied before? Can we think of a funny mnemonic device?
• Are there prefixes and suffixes in the word?  English and German are alike in both having a lot of prefixes and suffixes which help you know the meaning of a word.  This is a good time to unpack and reenforce the meanings of these. 

 One activity that I've found very successful in introducing vocabulary is the ticket exchange.  I know I got this from another teacher, but I'm afraid I can't remember who (and perhaps it was passed down to that teacher from another one - "oral-tradition.edu" )  Anyway, I make up a small piece of paper (actually, I recycle quilt-raffle tickets.  I have hundreds from a raffle a few years ago at my husband's school)  On each one, I write the German on the front and the English on the back.  If I were teaching English, I might write the English on the front and put a picture on the back, or a simple definition.  Each student gets a ticket.  I write on the board the German way to ask, "What does this mean?" and also the phrase for "I don't know"-- just in case students don't remember these phrases.  Students are asked to get out of their seats and show a classmate the ticket.  Person A will ask "What does _____ mean?"  At first, because these are new words, Person B will not know and Person A will have to tell him/her.  Then the Person  B will ask Person A his/her word and they will exchange tickets and go on to new partners.  After a while, they will start to become familier with the new vocabulary.  They will have a chance to say and hear the words.

Having done this over time, I have a few additional tips for its successful use.

• I model the activity before the start.  As a partner, I frequently pick a kid I think is most likely to have trouble understanding or paying attention to directions.  I model asking, having him/her say he doesn't know and asking me and then exchanging tickets and going on to a new partner.
• I stress with larger or less responsible classes the importance of participating.  I tell that they should always be either doing a ticket exchange or finding a partner as quickly as possible-- no floating around the room to locate the ideal partner.  The nearest free person should be the next partner.
• Especially in smaller classes (under 15 or so), I often participate.  I can then take out easier vocabulary and be the means of introducing a few new ones.  After a few minutes, I'll hear students comment that they've had a word a few times before.  I find that putting a few new words in lengthens the amount of time students are interested.
• Especially in classes that may tend to be a bit less responsible (OK, you know what I mean!), this is generally a pretty short activity.  Better to do this on two days for 5 minutes each than to let it go on too long.