What grade level is Kumon Japanese L designed for?
Kumon Japanese L is equivalent to high school level Kumon Japanese L. The J, K and L materials are classified according to the scope of study rather than the grade, with the J and K materials dealing with ancient Japanese and the L material dealing with Chinese literature.
The J and K materials deal with ancient Chinese literature, while the L materials deal with Chinese literature.
What kind of Kumon Japanese L materials are they?
From Kumon Japanese A to I, each material is divided into two parts, I and II, and it was necessary to complete 400 printouts to advance one letter of the alphabet; from J onwards, there is no I and II part and the number of printouts to advance to the next letter of the alphabet is 200.
Now let's check the official information on the Kumon Japanese L materials. First of all, the aim of the teaching materials.
The aim of the Kumon Japanese L materials is to take the reading of critical texts based on material study one step further than the K materials. The aim is to acquire the ability to accurately grasp and summarise the correspondence between concrete and abstract expressions in the argument (critic) against the source text. Cultivate the skill of summarising the whole text after grasping the paragraph structure of the critical text.
This is the finishing material for the 'reading comprehension of critical texts based on material study' which began with the J materials. The goal is to understand critical texts based on material texts (Chinese texts) at a level where the whole text can be condensed.
Continue to check the material that appears in the course.
Analects, Laozi, Sumi, Enshi, Zhuangzi, Mencius, Huangzi, Han Feizi, Huainanzi, Shiji, Warring States Policy, Tao Yuanming, The New Tongue, Li Bai, Du Fu, Liu Zongyuan, Han Yu, Bai Juyi, Su Shi, Li Shang Yin
As with the ancient texts during the J and K materials, there is a wide range of famous works of Chinese literature. I think that the famous places are generally covered.
The structure of the materials is in the form of 'concrete and abstract' in the first half and 'full-text condensation' in the second half; the image is that the preparation for understanding the whole text is completed in the first half of the L materials and the critical reading comprehension is summarised in the second half.
Chinese literature as a tool to improve reading comprehension
The Chinese literature in the L materials has the same characteristics as the ancient Chinese literature in the J and K materials. The aim of the L materials is not to learn the basic vocabulary and grammar of Chinese writing, but to improve reading comprehension using Chinese writing as the subject matter. In fact, at the very beginning of the L materials, it is clearly stated that the answers can be found by reading the annotations or the modern translations (critical texts).
Therefore, just because you have decided to start this material in elementary or junior high school, there is no need to panic if you are not ready to learn Chinese literature yet. This is because even if they do not have the prerequisite knowledge, they can proceed with their studies as an extension of their previous ones.
On the other hand, to get a good score in the examinations, the Chinese literature in Kumon alone is not enough. The overall picture is not very different from that of the ancient texts. However, it may be said that this tendency is more evident in Chinese literature than in ancient literature, as the ratio of knowledge questions in university examinations is often higher in Chinese literature than in ancient literature.
Reading comprehension involves mobilising everything you've learned so far.
So what about reading comprehension?
We explained that in the first half of the test, you will understand the relationship between the concrete and the abstract, and in the second half, you will do a 'full-text contraction'. This itself is something that has already been covered in the previous material. The material on reading the relationship between the concrete and the abstract was also covered in the E material, and the full-text contraction reached its conclusion in the I material. Of course, the level of the texts has risen, but this is not the first time the concept has been covered in the L materials.
What is different is the presence of material texts.
The presence of the material means that it is difficult to fully understand the content of the critical texts alone. The content of the source text must be taken into account, the whole of the critical text must be understood, and then the whole must be condensed.
What is even more troublesome is that the source texts cannot be understood in isolation: at the stage of learning the L materials, students do not have a basic knowledge of the Chinese text, so they naturally cannot understand the content if they only read the Chinese text.
Neither the material texts nor the critical texts can be understood in isolation. Then you have to refer to both texts alternately and decipher them little by little.
Each individual task is not impossible for a child who has progressed so far. However, in order to solve the problems in the L-material, everything must be done at the same time. You have to refer to the critical text in order to understand the source text, then refer to the source text again in order to understand the critical text, then grasp the logical structure of the critical text and then perform a contraction of the whole text.
It is not a single new skill that you have to confront in L-materials, but the complexity of mobilising all the skills you have learnt so far.
How to multitask well
What is important in order to face this complexity?
First of all, it is important to master each and every technique. If you are too occupied with understanding the critical text, you will not be able to understand the source text, grasp the logical structure or condense it. Only when you have mastered all of these elements to a level where you can do them with about 60% of your effort, can you use all of your strength to face the problems in the L-material.
The second is to acquire the skill of how to multitask successfully.
The problems in the L-material are designed in such a way that it is difficult to complete each element one by one. This is because they do not take the causal form of 'understanding the material text → understanding the critical text', but rather an interdependent form where the two progress gradually in turn.
As long as one task cannot be completed at a time, the task of solving the problems in the L-materials is solved in such a way that the task is constantly interrupted and resumed. The efficiency is further reduced because humans are not good at multitasking.
Although multitasking has a very tricky nature, it is not without countermeasures. Even if the loss of efficiency is unavoidable, it can be reduced through training.
Experience in multitasking is important.
As adults, we often experience multitasking in our work. It is not uncommon for working people to have a mountain of tasks with deadlines and irregular interruptions. In many cases, you adapt to the situation over the course of years of working. No matter how many things they have to do, they learn not to break deadlines and to finish their work at a satisfactory quality.
With children, however, deadlines are less demanding, so multitasking situations are less likely to arise. Episodes of putting off summer homework are a classic example. Even tasks that have enough time to be completed in a month or more cannot be completed without being urged to do so by others.
The difference is solely one of experience. You may not be able to put your child under the same pressure as at work, but just asking them to do something a little more complex will change the outcome.
Multitasking also exists in everyday life. Cooking is a typical example: when cooking multiple items, you have to cook them simultaneously under various constraints, such as time and utensils. Planning a trip also requires a lot of thinking, and on the day of the event you have to deal with various accidents.
Studying is basically a matter of devoting yourself to it, which leads to better results. So the more you focus on your studies, the more you lose the opportunity to experience other things. However, doing multiple things at the same time is the kind of skill that can be acquired efficiently from situations other than studying. It is important to have a balanced life.