The Penless Chinese Language Learning approach calls for much change in Chinese language pedagogy.  Clearly, it requires a very strong command of Pinyin from the very beginning of the learning process, which not only contributes to accuracy and fluency in pronunciation and listening comprehension, but also is fundamental for the Penless approach as complete Pinyin input is the first step in generating Chinese characters on the computer.  While traditional techniques of mastering stroke order and mnemonic devices about Chinese characters are no longer necessary, the Penless approach brings to the fore the fact that the majority of Chinese characters are formed by combining a categorical radical and a phonetic component.  Therefore cultivating the awareness and command of picto-phonetic characters from the very beginning becomes essential for the Penless approach. A large quantity of Chinese characters can be learned in a relatively short period of time by gaining the knowledge about categorical radicals and by exploiting the homophones that will appear on the software input panel when a complete Pinyin is entered.  This goal can be achieved through reading carefully constructed materials that contain large number of picto-phonetic characters and through writing sentences or paragraphs on the computer that exploit both phonetic regularity and irregularity of picto-phonetic characters.  Eventually, an entirely new procedure of Chinese character instruction will have to emerge that will not proceed from simple characters to more complicated ones as in the traditional Chinese language teaching practices, but rather revolving around the two axles, namely, the knowledge about categorical radicals and the command of phonetic components. 

 

As the writing of Chinese characters by itself is no longer a separate skill to be practiced under the Penless approach, much more time can be dedicated to the development of speaking, listening, reading and writing capabilities.  And what is more, speaking, listening, reading and writing can proceed concurrently at a much faster pace and reinforce each other in a truly multi-dimensional fashion.  In our practices with regard to writing assignments, for example, we have used several multi-dimensional "copying" strategies:

1. Dictate sentences or paragraphs to the students and ask them to write in Chinese characters on the computer (listening and writing, possibly speaking if dictated by a student);

2. Provide the students with Pinyin material and ask them to write in Chinese characters on the computer (reading and writing);

3. Present the students with Chinese character material and ask them to write in Chinese characters on the computer (reading and writing).

In fact, as complete Pinyin input is the first step for generating Chinese characters on the computer, as the Penless software has built-in pronunciation capability, and as the input panel always displays multiple homophonic characters for the students to choose, all four basic language skills are practiced in any writing assignment at the same time, thus making the above-mentioned reinforcement possible.