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On Monday, December 12, 2016, the Language Research Center of the Faculty of Languages and Translation was delighted to host a seminar by Mr. Erich Beer, titled "From the top of a pole 100 feet high, how do you step forward? Questions, Intuitions, and pointers relating to Reading Comprehension."

Mr. Beer launched his presentation by unraveling the intriguing title, followed by a disclosure of a poll he had undertaken. He had surveyed two distinct groups: male English faculty members teaching across the Graiger and Mahala campuses, as well as graduating male students from Graiger. Both groups were subjected to identical questions, with the exception of one query solely applicable to the teaching staff. These questions revolved around reading habits and views on the instruction of reading comprehension.

Analyzing the survey's results, Mr. Beer drew comparisons and contrasts between the responses garnered from the two cohorts, offering enlightening insights to the attendees. While certain viewpoints aligned between the groups, others showed considerable disparity. Following his presentation, a spirited question-and-answer segment took place, concluding with the awarding of two gift vouchers to the first audience members who correctly answered a competitive question. The session was marked by high engagement and provided food for thought for all attendees.

In his self-appraisal, Mr. Beer candidly stated: "The presentation did not completely tie up all the loose ends, nor did it fully interpret the survey results. Furthermore, the preamble extended disproportionately. However, it did spark numerous thought-provoking ideas worth exploring and presented several innovative approaches. As an artist by nature, I am enamored by creative ideas and often find myself wonderfully overwhelmed by them. They are akin to the uncontained contents of Pandora's box – I simply can't confine them neatly, so I let them flourish. Overall, I believe the presentation was engaging, even somewhat entertaining."