Bill Would Allow Computer Coding To Count As Foreign Language

August 22, 2017

A Senate Republican filed a proposal Monday that could lead to some high-school students taking computer coding courses to get foreign-language credits. The bill filed by Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, would allow — but not require — high schools to offer two credits in computer coding.

Students who take the coding courses and earn related industry certifications would be able to satisfy two credits of foreign-language instruction.

Florida College System schools and state universities would have to recognize the coding courses as foreign-language credits. But parents and students also would have to sign statements acknowledging that out-of-state colleges and universities might not recognize the coding courses.

The bill, which is filed for the 2018 legislative session, would make the changes effective with the 2020-2021 school year.

by The News Service of Florida

Comments

6 Responses to “Bill Would Allow Computer Coding To Count As Foreign Language”

  1. Melodies4us on August 22nd, 2017 4:25 pm

    What a great idea. I hope the school board is thorough in evaluating the teachers that will teach the new ” language “.

  2. Jason on August 22nd, 2017 3:25 pm

    I also agree that coding is not a foreign language but with our broken education system not providing a way for our kids to get credits doing computer science classes i think the end is justified as i feel this is a must have skill for any student to have access to as much as foreign language students do.

  3. K on August 22nd, 2017 9:26 am

    I can say pretty clearly that computer code is not a foreign language.

    while I understand it is the language of computers, the people using the computers still communicate in their own parent language to get their points across.

    nice try, Senator Brandes, but no. just… no.

  4. Jim on August 22nd, 2017 8:57 am

    I tend to agree. Computer languages have their own syntax, structure and useage rules, much like any language. How many people who were forced to sit through a foreign language in high school, even among those who did well, could carry on a conversation beyond the “my name is…” or “today we ate lunch in a yellow taxi”? With today’s dependence on technology, encouraging involvement in computer sciences and related fields would more likely lead to a continued interest and possibly a beneficial career.

  5. Melissa on August 22nd, 2017 7:50 am

    I am stunned at the inanity of this proposal. Bob is right. Computer code is not a foreign language and should not be treated as such. Students should be learning a foreign language. So many do not know one word of another language and we should not expect everyone else to speak English for us if we go overseas. I have been to Europe a couple of times and thankfully knew enough to get around in several countries. Learning a foreign language is important. This sadly should not be a way for kids to get out of learning a foreign language. I had to study foreign language in junior high, high school and college. They should too.

  6. bob in baker on August 22nd, 2017 5:34 am

    I’ve been writing computer code for over 20 years and I can tell you that computer coding IS NOT a foreign language and the person that is pushing this apparently doesn’t have a clue.