money motivated students? Try an auction!
 

If you have business students, or students who are money motivated, the following activity works really well for new vocabulary or phrases.

Make cards with words and separate cards with their definitions, or make cards with half a phrase and separate cards with the other half of the phrase, some common business phrases for example. Divide the students into teams. Deal out half of the cards to the teams and keep the other half behind. The teams are each given an amount of imaginary money, like $150. The teams then bid on the cards that you have kept behind, one by one, in order to complete their word cards with the correct definition cards or to complete the phrases. Bidding starts at $10 and each bid goes up with at least $5. If all cards are sold, the team with the most correct pairs wins, if there is a tie, the team with most money left wins.

Follow the auction up with a speaking activity where they have to use the new vocabulary.