homehome Home chatchat Notifications


Language skill may matter more for learning how to code than math

Girls tend to have better language abilities on average than boys, yet they might feel intimidated by stereotypes surrounding computer science.

Tibi Puiu
May 15, 2020 @ 6:37 pm

share Share

Programming is often perceived as a math-intensive field, which, let’s face it, can be intimidating for anyone contemplating it. A new study, however, suggests that language and problem-solving skills are more reliable predictors of how quickly a person learns a programming language than mathematical aptitude.

Language > math

Researchers at the University of Washington recruited 42 participants who joined a coding course through Codeacademy. Each participant completed ten 45-minute-long lessons that initiated them in coding with Python.

Before they enrolled, the participants completed a series of tests designed to assess their math, working memory, problem solving, and second language learning abilities.

The test results were correlated with the course’s completion metrics, including how well a student understood the lessons and the rate at which they completed checkpoints.

By the end of the study, 36 participants had completed the course. By comparing the test results before and after the Python course, the researchers could determine the weight of memory, problem-solving, language, and mathematical abilities when it comes to predicting successful learning.

While participants learned how to code in Python at different rates, the researchers found that problem solving and working memory were the most associated with how well students were able to program. Meanwhile, both general cognitive skills and language aptitude were associated with how quickly they learned to code.

In fact, aptitude for a second language accounted for almost 20% of the difference in how quickly the students learned Python, while math could account for just 2% of the variation.

This suggests that language skills are more important than numerical aptitudes when it comes to learning how to code, despite folk wisdom.

What’s more, the researchers also measured the brain activity of the participants through electroencephalography (EEG) prior to the online learning tasks. The EGG measured patterns of brain activity while the subjects were relaxed and basically doing nothing.

Electrical activity at rest has various patterns, including slow waves called beta oscillations. Previously, researchers showed that these oscillations in brain activity are linked to the ability to learn a second language. Participants who scored high on the Python course also tended to have higher levels of beta oscillations.

Taken together, these findings show that language abilities might be more important than mathematical skills when learning computer science.

Girls, who tend to have higher language skills than boys on average, typically avoid computer science because they may feel intimidated by stereotypes of a math-intensive environment.

However, this study shows that girls ought to do just as well as boys at coding, if not better.

The findings were published in the journal Scientific Reports.

share Share

Neanderthals and early humans started burying their dead at the same time — and it may be more about competition than honoring the dead

Researchers propose a stunning new theory for why Neanderthals and humans started to bury their dead at the same time.

How Missed Warnings and Incompetence Brought Down Arecibo’s Iconic Telescope

The fall of the radio telescope was the result of many overlooked warning signs.

Bison in Canada uncover 1,000-year-old sacred petroglyphs carved by Indigenous people

The accidental discovery occurred just months after the bison were reintroduced in the area.

MIT Scientists Use Quantum Physics to Protect Sensitive Data in AI Models

Researchers use quantum mechanics to protect data in deep-learning computations.

For the first time in recorded history (130 years) Mount Fuji is snowless in November

Mount Fuji is just one of the many important landmarks affected by climate change.

Fast fashion company replaces models with AI and brags about it

The clothes they are "wearing" are real. But everything else is very, very fake.

Humans should be better at voting than monkeys. But are we, really?

When you step into the voting booth, you might think you're making a rational choice. But what if I told you that part of your brain is just doing monkey things?

AI Finds Trump’s “Simple and Divisive” Language Is Unique Among Past U.S. Presidents

When Donald Trump steps up to a microphone, his words often make waves. Whether delivering a State of the Union address or sparring in a debate, his style is unmistakably his own. But what exactly sets him apart? A new study published in PNAS Nexus delves into this question, harnessing the power of machine learning […]

Uranus' moon Miranda may also have an ocean of hidden water

Miranda, Uranus’s smallest moon, may be hiding an exciting secret.

Meet the “Flying Spaghetti Monster” Living 10,000 Feet Beneath the Ocean’s Surface

Underwater robots find over 20 new species in the "twilight zone" of the Pacific Ocean.