Friday, January 24, 2020

Instituto ROOSEVELT - English-As-a-Foreign-language teaching in the 1970s

I have already posted some of my experiences in teaching English-as-a-foreign-language at Fisk School in São Paulo, during the 1970s. 

Now I'd like to introduce my friend Lutch Bizin who has also taught English-as-a-foreign-language in the 1970s & 1980s but at Instituto Roosevelt on the corner of Avenida Ipiranga and Rua 24 de Maio at the heart of used to be the downtown area. 

As myself and Lutch Bizin were walking past the 3-floor-building on the corner of Avenida Ipiranga & Rua 24 de Maio I noticed he became all flushed with emotion when remembering the times he taught English at Instituto Roosevelt. So I asked him to write a little text about those times to accompany these photos.  

Lutch Bizin having the building that used to house Instituto Roosevelt at his back. 'Roosevelt', as it used to be known popularly was one of the most popular sites of English-teaching alongside Yazigi, Escolas Fisk, TWT etc. União Cultural Brasil-Estados Unidos and Cultura Inglêsa were more expensive courses that catered to an upper middle-class. 
Right on the corner, on the 1st floor there was a great room we called the 'Teachers' room'. That was where Brazilian and foreign-born teachers would congregate between classes. I noticed Brazilian teacher kept quiet by themselves whereas American, British, Dutch and other nationals literally ran riot, talking non-stop, telling endless jokes, smoking cigarette and having a lot of fun. Most of these so-called teachers were turists travelling South America who landed a job to help them along with their petty expenses.  

This used to be the entrance to Instituto Roosevelt on rua 24 de Maio.


The old Instituto Roosevelt building looking towards Praça da República...
Lutch Bizin down at Anhangabaú Valley... see the green-and-yellow building on the left? It used to be the Bank of Boston, where Lutch worked as a young apprentice in 1974
Carlus Maximus sitting on the main stairs leading to Olden São Paulo Post Office on a Thursday afternoon, 23rd January 2020.
Mrs. Angela Bizin and Lutch Bizin on a selfie while riding public transport in São Paulo in January 2020.

Instituto Roosevelt was put together in the early 1950s by a certain Mr Toster (we never knew his Christian name).

I believe Mr Toster, the North American owner would have opened Instituto Roosevelt in the 1950s just like other language schools such as Fisk, Yazigi. Instituto Roosevelt offered not only English teaching but also Spanish, Italian, French, German, Portuguese for foreigners and later on Japanese.

Besides languages Roosevelt hired Doris, a sweet Afro-Brazilian young lady who taught short hand.

I, Lutch, taught English there from 1978 to 1980.

The main office was located on the 1st floor; the teachers' room faced both Rua 24 de Maio and Praça da República. The teaching staff composed of a bunch of very interesting people. I remember all their faces although I can't place a name to them. I recall Simon, a Dutch fellow who spoke fluent British English; Joe, a Polish bloke from London; Munir, a lad from Lebanon; three teachers of Armenian background; one American and another English; an Indian gentleman from New Delhi; a bright teacher of English from British Guyana whose two front teeth were missing; an American national of Russian descent who reminds me of Mr Putin as a young man; another fellow of Russian descent from Yugoslavia; Mina from Hong Kong and, of course, various Brazilian teachers of English.

Our coordinator was Connie, a South African lady who had Marilyn Monroe's looks. All in all Roosevelt was a very interesting school, a landmark in the city of São Paulo which serviced the lower middle classes. Their English courses consisted of four books. Two for beginners and 2 for intermediate students. Advanced students were taught by other American methods plus lots of conversation.

In 1981, I was transferred to the school headquaters on Rua Senador Feijó; a three-story building next to the Sé Cathedral where I taught both English and German. Those were good old days!

22 comments:

  1. His first name was Joseph. Joseph Louis Troster, or Mr. Troster was a native of Louisville, Kentucky. I met him because he was a tenant of one of my aunt's houses at Rua da Consolação, where he had the first branch of Instituto Roosevelt. I believe the economist Roberto Luís Troster to be his son. I studied there for 2 years, but much to my regret I can't remember the name of my teachers (one was an Austrian gentleman and the other was a Brazilian, who at that time also worked for Willys Overland do Brasil. Nice to remember those good times again!

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    1. Dear Wilson Colocero, thanks so much for your precious information. I'm sorry I haven't had the chance to read it before. I will pass this information to Lutch Bizin, who lives in Salvador-BA now. I'm sure he'll be delighted. Thank you again.

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    2. By the way... I wonder whether you'd have any photo of those times. You wouldn't have any picture of that particular school on Rua da Consolação by any chance? Thank you, Wilson Colocero.

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  2. The R. Senador Feijo' Inst. Roosevelt was the 1st English pvt school I attended in the mid 1970s on Saturdays. I later got a scholarship to Uniao Cultural while attending night HS/College. I had 3 different teachers at Roosevelt in different terms: a Brazilian dude who used music in his approaches, by translating popular TV commercial songs into English. Seleto Coffee/Cafe' Seleto was one of them. The next one was an Italian older man who had a strong accent /tilt, which almost made us think we were learning Italian. The 3rd one was Melba, from India, who thought I was too. She was beautiful & was in a Silvio Santos TV beauty contest called "Beleza nao tem Sexo." She ended up losing to an Italian Brazilian young man. She sounded more British. I'm now retired from the NY City Dept of Ed as a Literacy/ELA teacher & live in Staten Island. For all I know a teacher's efforts are not in vain. Education & English teaching/learning can provoke social mobility too! So be proud!

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  3. Dear Anonymous, you should've signed your name! You've got a most interesting life-story. I started learning English late. I don't remember the exact date but Simon & Garfunkel's 'Mrs Robinson' used to play on the radio which sends us back to 1969. Just like you, I had a few different teachers of EAFL. I had an Egyptian male teacher who was friendly but not really good at teaching. I once had a Brazilian man who had worked for an American company and had the chance to live in the US for some time. He was always in awe with how Americans pronounced words... I remember he used to tell us Americans always inserted SO and SO-ah! into their conversation... I don't remember having a really good teacher in all the different courses I took. I ended up going to live in New Jersey in 1971, but differently from you I came back to Brazil... and then moved to Australia in the 1980s. Do you have any photos of those times? I'd love to be able to post 1970s photos of people who taught-or-learned English as a 2nd language... Nice to hear from you and thank you for the comments.

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  4. great story! I'm the daughter of Joseph Troster and I really enjoyed reading your article, pictures and commentaries.

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    1. Hi, Patricia Troster! Thanks for your reply. At least now we know your father's Christian name... I wonder whether you could write us a little biography of your Father. Something like where he was born, date, education, places he traveled to and especially his time in Brazil. Thanks so much for your input.

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  5. I was a student at Roosevelt Institute for 3 years until I went to Australia in 1982. Had great teachers such as Mary a lovely British lady, Vantuil, can't remember others names, but mostly I went to that particular school, because my good friend Jairo C. Dos Santos, who was my neighbour since I was a little girl, he not only was a great teacher, but always gave so much positive info and support that helped me to learn English getting enough confidence to go to a foreign country and be able to speak the language fluently. Sad the day I came back to Brazil, walked downtown and the great old school was no longer there. Jairo moved to Iguape then to Registro, till a massive heart attack took him from us. I miss him always, and I miss those days at Roosevelt English school. It was a great school!!!

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    1. Dear Marcia, thanks so much for your comment. In case you find any photos you'd have of those years at Roosevelt, don't forget to send us. Thank you.

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  6. I'm sorry but you're all wrong. Mr. Troster (originally written “Tröster” with mutated vowel) was a German from Oberlahnstein, Germany. That is a small town on the Rhine, near Cologne. He was a good friend of my father, Heinz Walther, from his youth. He visited us during a short vacation in Germany. That must have been around 1950, I was just a little baby. Unfortunately, my father has since passed away, so I can't ask him for details. I would attach a copy of his business card but I don't know how to do that.
    Herbert Walther

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    1. You're telling us Joseph Troster or Tröster was a German national and used to be a friend of your Father's. They must have been friends when they were really young for Mr Troster lived most of his life in Brazil.

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    2. Yes that's right. My father was born in 1917 and they were school friends. Unfortunately I don't know any further details and I can't ask my father anymore.
      Herbert Walther

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    3. Hello, Herbert... thanks for the info... We didn't know Mr Tröster was a German national... we assumed he would be an American... but life is full of surprises... As you may have noticed, Patricia Troster, who is the daughter of Joseph Tröster wrote us a note (read it above)... but she didn't proffer much information.

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  7. I am thrilled to have come across this blog. I taught English at Instituto Roosevelt from about September 1976 to March 1977. Because they already had a "John" teaching at that time, Connie dubbed me "Anthony" (my middle name). Names of a few fellow teachers come to mind: Jurema, Carol, Mike Essa, Roberto. What a wonderful experience!

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    1. John, it's great to read your comment. I remember Connie, a pretty charming lady. Do you have any info about her, her whereabouts, anything else?

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  8. Hello, John aka Anthony... I'll let my friend Lutch know you have seen the post... he might remember you for it looks you taught there at the same time he did...

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  9. Alas I don't! I joined Roosevelt in 1978. John aka Anthony had already left by then...

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  10. My mom studied at Instituto Roosevelt in the early 50’s and was Mr Troster’s student. She told me sometimes the students used to go to the beach on the weekends(Guarujá and Santos ) to practice conversation. She finished the 4 books course and stayed in touch with Mr Troster. In the 70’s my mom suffered a car accident that put her on a wheelchair. Mr Troster came in my house to visit her , bring us a huge box of Kopenhagen chocolates ( I think I was 5 or 6 at that time) and gave my mom a full scholarship for me and my older sister! I started studing at 144 , Senador Feijo street in 1987 and I remember Teacher Melody, an English lady and Teacher Marcelo, a brazilian guy who was studing engineering at Poli/USP. Oh, I miss those times so much ! I used to love the “Laboratory Classes” with big rolls of cassete records that we could record our voices with!

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    1. Hi, Claudia, thanks so much for having told us a little about your experience with Mr Troster & Instituto Roosevelt. I wonder whatever happened to your Mother. Did she ever get over it? I hope so. Would you have any photos of your Mother while she went to the English course? Thank you for sharing your experience!

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    2. Hi Lulu. My mom spent the rest of her life on a wheelchair, but she was able to raise me and my old sis and she could live to know her two grandchildren . I became a ObGyn doctor and my sist a TV director. I just found a cuple of photos , there’re no date on it, but I think its 1958.

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    3. But I don’t know how to upload photos here😬

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  11. Hi, Claudia... thanks for answering... Your Mother must have been a great person. Would you be able to send the photos to my e-address? Here it is: lulupavone@gmail.com

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