Non-native English speakers learning computer programming: Barriers, desires, and design opportunities

Abstract

People from nearly every country are now learning computer programming, yet the majority of programming languages, libraries, documentation, and instructional materials are in English. What barriers do non-native English speakers face when learning from English-based resources? What desires do they have for improving instructional materials? We investigate these questions by deploying a survey to a programming education website and analyzing 840 responses spanning 86 countries and 74 native languages. We found that non-native English speakers faced barriers with reading instructional materials, technical communication, reading and writing code, and simultaneously learning English and programming. They wanted instructional materials to use simplified English without culturally-specific slang, to use more visuals and multimedia, to use more culturally-agnostic code examples, and to embed inline dictionaries. Programming also motivated some to learn English better and helped clarify logical thinking about natural languages. Based on these findings, we recommend learner-centered design improvements to programming-related instructional resources and tools to make them more accessible to people around the world.