How learning a foreign language helps you learn to code

As a full-stack developer, I‘ve often reflected on how my love for human languages has shaped my approach to coding. While programming and foreign languages may seem worlds apart, in my experience the process of learning and mastering them is surprisingly similar. The same skills and mindset that let you decipher exotic languages can give you a real edge when learning to code.

The multilingual programmer advantage

It turns out this isn‘t just a personal hunch – a growing body of research suggests that bilingualism confers significant cognitive benefits that extend way beyond language itself. Studies have found that compared to monolinguals, bilingual individuals show:

• Enhanced executive functioning and attentional control[^1] • Better task switching and multitasking abilities[^2] • Increased working memory and information processing[^3] • Improved problem-solving and logical reasoning skills[^4] • Delayed onset of age-related cognitive decline and dementia[^5] [^1]: Bialystok, E. (2011). Coordination of executive functions in monolingual and bilingual children. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 110(3), 461-468.
[^2]: Prior, A., & Macwhinney, B. (2010). A bilingual advantage in task switching. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 13(2), 253-262.
[^3]: Morales, J., Calvo, A., & Bialystok, E. (2013). Working memory development in monolingual and bilingual children. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 114(2), 187-202.
[^4]: Weatherly, B. C., Tong, X., & Bialystok, E. (2003). The impact of bilingualism on problem solving performance: Evidence from mathematical problems. The Journal of Educational Research, 97(1), 29-35.
[^5]: Bialystok, E., Craik, F. I., & Freedman, M. (2007). Bilingualism as a protection against the onset of symptoms of dementia. Neuropsychologia, 45(2), 459-464.

In other words, learning a second language doesn‘t just make you better at that language – it fundamentally rewires your brain and boosts your overall cognitive abilities. And it just so happens that many of these enhanced skills are also key to being a successful programmer.

Coding, after all, is fundamentally about learning new languages – whether it‘s Python, JavaScript, or C++. It requires you to juggle multiple symbol systems in your head, to think abstractly and computationally, to break down large problems into smaller components. All things that polyglots are already quite adept at.

Cracking the code

So what does the process of learning a new programming language look like for someone steeped in human languages? Let‘s break it down:

Vocabulary building

Just like you start learning a new language by memorizing basic vocabulary, coding begins with mastering the core "words" of the language – the data types, operators, control structures, and so on. It‘s not so different from flashcard drilling, except instead of "la bibliothèque" you‘re burning "boolean" into memory.

In my experience, the key is systematic, spaced repetition – revisiting concepts repeatedly over time. It‘s how I finally drilled the gender of German nouns into my skull (die Katze, der Hund, das Haus), and it‘s how I cement the syntax of a new language.

There are even great "vocabulary" building apps for coding, like Enki, which are basically Duolingo for programming concepts.

Phrase book

Once you have some basic vocabulary, the next step in picking up a language is learning common phrases and expressions. It‘s about getting a feel for how words fit together while sidestepping the complexities of grammar.

The equivalent in coding is learning the common idioms and patterns of the language. The classic example is the "for loop":

for i in range(10):
    print(i)

You may not fully grasp the intricacies of what‘s happening, but you learn the general structure and when to use it, like a traveler memorizing "Où est la gare?" without worrying about French verb conjugations.

This is where sample code snippets and tutorials can be really helpful – they‘re basically the phrase books of the coding world. You lean on them heavily at first, then gradually internalize the patterns with time and practice.

Grammar and syntax

Now we get to the meat of the language – the rules governing how elements combine into well-formed "sentences". In natural languages, this means grappling with things like conjugation tables, case endings, and tense systems. In programming languages, it‘s concepts like variable scope, function parameters, and class inheritance.

The thing is, while grammar may seem dull and arbitrary, it encodes the deep logic of the language. It‘s the key to being able to express complex thoughts and construct sophisticated "sentences".

Take Python‘s use of indentation to denote code blocks:

if x > 0:
    print("Positive")
else:
    print("Not positive")  

At first, this might seem like an annoying and pedantic rule compared to other languages that use braces or keywords. But it elegantly dovetails with Python‘s core philosophy of prioritizing simplicity and readability. Grasping that deeper logic is what lets you start to think natively in the language.

And learning the "grammar" of multiple languages, both human and computer, gives you an intuitive feel for how different grammars encode different ways of modeling the world. That‘s a powerful mental framework for a coder.

Immersion and fluency

Ask any polyglot the best way to cement a new language and they‘ll all tell you the same thing: immersion. Surround yourself with the language, converse with native speakers, consume media in the language. Constant practice and exposure is the only way to build true fluency and start thinking in the language.

In my experience, this absolutely applies to programming languages as well. Tutorials and toy examples can only take you so far – to really internalize a language you need to build substantial, real-world projects in it. It‘s the coding equivalent of having real conversations, of going to live in a country that speaks the language.

This is where the "thrash and drown" phase of learning kicks in – you‘re going to be in over your head, constantly looking things up, mixing language patterns. But it‘s the only way to transition from abstract knowledge to embedded intuition. Over time, with enough practice, you stop translating in your head and start thinking fluently in the language.

And once you reach fluency in multiple languages, an amazing thing happens: you begin to "codeswitch" effortlessly between them, to employ different languages for different problems and domains. Just like a multilingual speaker might shift between languages depending on context and topic.

The human element

Beyond pure cognitive overlap, perhaps the deepest affinity between language learning and programming lies in the fact that both are deeply human endeavors. At their core, they‘re both about communication and expression.

This might seem obvious for human languages, but it‘s just as true for programming languages. Code is how developers express ideas and logic to the computer, sure. But even more crucially, it‘s how we communicate those ideas to other humans.

As Abelson and Sussman put it in the seminal "Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs":

"Programs must be written for people to read, and only incidentally for machines to execute."

A program is not just a sequence of mechanical instructions – it‘s a living document, a story that explains how and why the system works the way it does. And the primary audience for that story is other developers – including your future self!

That‘s why good coders tend to be good communicators. Why the most successful development teams put such a premium on clear code commenting, documentation, and knowledge sharing. It‘s fundamentally a linguistic act.

And in an increasingly globalized tech industry, this often takes place across human language boundaries as well. A 2021 Stack Overflow survey found that nearly 60% of professional developers are non-native English speakers[^6]. Many work on distributed teams spanning multiple countries and language groups.

[^6]: Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2021. (Link)

This is where being a polyglot programmer is an incredible asset. You‘re not just able to pick up new programming paradigms more easily – you have the intercultural communication chops to bridge divides and grease the gears of collaboration.

Some of the best coding experiences of my career have come from working with international teams, pair programming with someone halfway across the globe. Being able to nimbly context switch between Python jargon, idiomatic Chinese, and cultural references was tremendously fulfilling and made me a better programmer.

Language as leverage

Ultimately, both language learning and programming are about building conceptual frameworks and leveraging them to solve problems. Each new language is a new tool, a new way of structuring thought.

And the more languages you know, human or computer, the more mental models you have at your disposal. You start to see common patterns, universal structures. You can mix and match models to crack tricky challenges.

This flexibility and adaptability is what separates average coders from great ones. Because the reality is, there‘s never a single best language for a problem, never a perfect architecture. Languages and paradigms are like colors on a palette – the real art is in knowing how and when to blend them.

And that‘s perhaps the greatest gift that language learning has given me as a programmer – the humility to know that no one paradigm has all the answers, coupled with the conceptual agility to fluidly combine them.

So if you‘re a budding developer, I can‘t encourage you enough to go out and pick up a new language, whether it‘s Spanish or Swift, Arabic or Assembly. It‘ll make you not just a better coder, but a better thinker and communicator.

And if you‘re already a polyglot looking to break into tech, know that you have a major head start. Your brain is already wired for precisely the kind of learning and problem-solving that programming demands. Lean into those hard-won linguistic skills.

In a world increasingly defined by code, there‘s never been a better time to be a multilingual programmer. So keep coding, keep conjugating, and never stop learning. The linguistic road is winding and difficult, but it leads to beautiful vistas.