DHAHAB · Research
Peer-reviewed CS education research.
Yusuf Gadelrab is a co-author of a peer-reviewed poster abstract published at the ACM SIGCSE Technical Symposium 2026, out of Dr. Ethel Tshukudu's CS Education Research Lab at San José State University, where he has been an undergraduate researcher since August 2024. The question underneath it: what actually has to change so that a beginner who does not think in English can still learn to program?
Every claim on this page is checkable against a primary source: the published poster abstract has a DOI. Nothing here is a preprint or a submission still under review.
01 · At a glance
The record
Undergraduate co-author, not a lab assistant credit.
- ResearcherYusuf Gadelrab — BS Computer Science, San José State University, expected May 2028, dual track in applied mathematics and computer science
- LabCS Education Research Lab, San José State University
- AdvisorDr. Ethel Tshukudu
- VenuesACM SIGCSE Technical Symposium 2026 (SIGCSE TS 2026), Posters track · SIGCSE Virtual 2026, Papers track, 12–15 November 2026
- MethodsMixed methods, 60 bilingual participants
- Primary DOI10.1145/3770761.3777339
- Repository recordSJSU ScholarWorks
- Contactyusuf.gadelrab06@gmail.com · GitHub · LinkedIn
02 · In plain language
What the research is actually about
No jargon version, for anyone deciding whether to read the paper.
Programming languages are written in English. if, while, return, every error message, every tutorial, every Stack Overflow answer. For a student who is still learning English, that means the first CS class is really two classes taken at once — one in computing and one in a second language — and only one of them is being taught. The dropout that follows gets read as "not a coder." It is often just load.
The paper tests the obvious intervention nobody had measured carefully at this level: let novices meet the material in their first language alongside the English syntax, and see what happens to how they perform and, just as importantly, to whether they believe they belong in the room.
It sits in computer science education research, a field whose job is to replace intuitions about who "gets" programming with measurements.
03 · Publications
The poster and the paper
ACM SIGCSE TS 2026 · SIGCSE Virtual 2026
-
Exploring Bilingual Coding for Inclusive Computer Science Learning
A mixed-methods study of 60 participants asking whether novices learn programming better when they can read and write code alongside their first language, rather than being forced through English-only syntax and English-only instruction from day one.
The design pairs quantitative performance data with qualitative accounts from the learners themselves, because the interesting failure mode in introductory CS is rarely a wrong answer — it is a student who decides, quietly and early, that this subject is not for them. The headline result: pre-to-post improvements in confidence, computing identity, enjoyment and motivation, with inexperienced participants gaining more in confidence than experienced ones. Confidence is the measure that predicts whether someone takes the second CS course, which is the outcome the field actually cares about.
Read it at doi.org/10.1145/3770761.3777339 →
Tshukudu, Shah, Kieu, Deeb, Venkateswaran, Ghai, Gadelrab, Hada (2026). Exploring Bilingual Coding for Inclusive Computer Science Learning. In Proceedings of the 57th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE TS 2026). ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/3770761.3777339
-
Does Language Matter in Programming? Exploring Student Attitudes and Experiences in a Bilingual Coding Workshop
The full treatment of the study the poster abstract introduced. Sixty bilingual participants at San José State University — 40 with little to no prior programming experience, 20 experienced programmers — completed a two-hour workshop on the multilingual Hedy platform. Pre- and post-surveys used the validated Attitudes Toward Computing Scale to measure confidence, enjoyment, motivation, identity and perceived usefulness, alongside open-ended questions about what the experience was actually like.
The result that matters is the split. Every group improved on most constructs, but the inexperienced participants gained more in confidence and enjoyment, while the experienced programmers showed smaller gains and actively preferred coding in English. The qualitative data explains why: most students felt English supported clarity, yet bilingual students more often reported that having both languages available helped them grasp the concept, even when translation itself was awkward. So bilingual environments help most exactly where the field needs help — at the point of first contact — and matter less once someone already reads code fluently.
See it on the SIGCSE Virtual 2026 programme →
The conference takes place in November 2026, so proceedings are not published yet and no DOI has been assigned. This entry will be updated with the DOI when ACM issues it.
Tshukudu, Kieu, Deeb, Venkateswaran, Gadelrab (2026). Does Language Matter in Programming? Exploring Student Attitudes and Experiences in a Bilingual Coding Workshop. SIGCSE Virtual 2026, Papers track. ACM.
04 · Method
How the study was run
The parts that determine whether a result is worth anything.
- Participants60 bilingual participants — 40 with little or no prior programming experience, 20 experienced. Thtween a study and an anecdote
- DesignMixed methods — quantitative performance measures paired with qualitative learner accounts, so the numbers come with the reasons behind them
- Sample60 participants
- Primary outcomeLearner confidence — significant pre-to-post gains, largest among novices
- SettingCS Education Research Lab, San José State University, under Dr. Ethel Tshukudu
The published poster abstract is the source of record. Anything reported here beyond what is stated above should be read out of the paper itself, not out of this page.
Collaboration