London to Istanbul, singing writing English lesson

This morning my student A., a theater professor, and I perform a listening, singing, and creative writing English lesson to compare and contrast Penny Lane, London, to a street in Kadiköy, Istanbul.  As the American teacher, I provide the American accent.  The Beatles song 'Penny Lane' provides the British accent.  Hem Amerikan hem de Ingiliz ders.  We compare and contrast the American and British accent for the words banker and barber.  Also, there are differences of word choice.  For example, a mack is British English for a raincoat.  First, she listens to the song as she completes the lyric gap fill exercise below.

In Penny Lane there is a __________ showing photographs,
of every __________ he's had the pleasure to know.
And all the people that __________ and __________ ,
__________ and __________ hello.
On the corner is a __________ with a motorcar,
the little children __________ at him behind his __________ .
And the banker never __________ a mack,
in the pouring rain, very strange.
Penny Lane is in my __________ and in my eyes.
There, beneath the blue, suburban skies,
I __________ , and meanwhile back.
In Penny Lane there is a __________ with an hourglass,
and in his pocket is a portrait of the Queen.
He __________ to keep his fire engine clean,
it's a clean machine.
Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes.
A four of fish and finger pies,
in summer, meanwhile back.
Behind the shelter in the middle of a roundabout,
the pretty nurse is selling poppies from a tray.
And tho' she __________ as if she's in a play,
she is anyway.
In Penny Lane the barber __________ another __________,
we see the banker sitting waiting for a trim.
And then the fireman __________ in,
from the pouring rain, very strange.

Next, we sing the song out loud together.  It's great for speed and fluency.  I think we both enjoy standing up and performing during the English lesson.  Who cares if neither of us sings well?  I'm certain I croak like a frog.  Just stand up and sing outloud anyway!  Perfectionism in language learning is the enemy of fluency and confidence. 

In addition, we go over the new vocabulary:

• trim: saç kesme
• pouring: dökmek
• tho' means although: rağmen
• suburban means banlieu: banliyö

Last but not least, we have an open, free response activity.  This part of the lesson really opens up creativity.  A. starts to hestitate: Is my teacher going to ask me to write my own ideas?  Yes, I ask her to write about what she thinks the people are doing on her street right now in her neighborhood in Kadiköy.  I bring out the white board and Turkish-English dictionary to be ready for questions.  Here is her writing:

People are drinking coffee and alcohol on the street.
The waiters are inviting people for coffee.
The cats are walking to the church garden.
I am yelling my cat's name, Elsi, very strange.
People are watching documentaries in the occupied house.
Activists stop and say hello.
The tailor is sewing a new dress for an old lady.
The second hand bookseller is going around collecting books from houses for cheap.
He is like a stork, very strange.
The tattoo artist is inking a punk's upper arm.
If I wasn't afraid of needles, I would get a tattoo of planets.

Finally, I ask her for constructive feedback about how she enjoys the lesson.  I tell her that I am proud that we can accomplish so much in only 90 minutes.  She likes her street in Istanbul more after knowing how to describe the place in English.  :)