Language Ability May Make for Better Programmers, Study Finds

Language Ability May Make for Better Programmers, Study Finds

A new study has found that people who are good at learning languages may be better at learning computer programming than people who are good at math.

Researchers from the University of Washington noted that newer programming languages, such as Python, resemble real languages, with their own vocabulary and grammar.

They had 36 people take to online lessons to learn Python. The researchers then judged them based on how quickly they learned, how well they were able to languages to create a rock-paper-scissors game, and how well they performed on a multiple choice test.

They found that both people who were good at math and people who were good at languages tended to better and faster than others in the study.

However, they found that language ability was the most important factor in learning speed, explaining 43% of differences in the results. Mathematical ability explained only 6% of differences. The fastest learner completed the lessons tow-and-a-half times more quickly than the slowest learner.

However, problem-solving ability was the most important factor for completing the rock-paper-scissors program, explaining 50% of differences. Language ability was next most important, explaining about 9% of differences.

Problem solving was also most important for the multiple choice test, explaining 31% of differences. Number and language abilities did not have a significant impact.

Overall, the researchers found that 34% of the differences in results could be explained by memory and problem solving abilities, which people can have if they are good with either languages or math. But 17% of differences could be explained by language ability, while math ability explained only 2% of differences.

The researchers suggested that the importance of numeracy has been "overestimated" in programming education in recent years.