PseuToPy: Towards a Non-English Natural Programming Language

Most text-based programming languages found in introductory programming courses use English words. This fact alone can deter non-English speakers who wish to learn to program: how can we expect them to learn a programming language if they do not even understand the meaning of the keywords they are manipulating? In addition, the syntax and semantics of programming languages are also known causes of learners’ mistakes. In this paper, we highlight these difficulties and then present PseuToPy, a programming language which can be localized in several tongues on the one hand and produce instructions close to these natural languages on the other. PseuToPy is still a work in progress: we have developed a version in French and hope to study its use in an educational context to see whether or not programming beginners find it easier to learn programming by implementing algorithms in their native tongues.