When you decide to become a programmer, the first thing that catches your eye is that everything is in English. Code, errors, articles, videos, courses. And many people begin to doubt: “And if I don't know English well, will I succeed at all?”
The short answer: Yes, it will work. To get started, you don't need to be a translator or a philologist. You don't need academic language, but business English for programmers.
Why is English so important in programming?
Programming is an international language of communication. The code is written in English words, and most technologies are created in the USA and Europe.
Documentation is almost always in English.
Most questions on Stack Overflow and GitHub too.
Courses and tutorials are updated earlier than translations.
Even basic knowledge of the language will reduce training time and will make you more independent.
What do you need to know at the start?
A beginner programmer does not need a C1 level. It is enough to understand the basic words, to be able to search for information and to understand the errors.
Basic verbs and nouns: run, print, error, input, output, loop, return.
Error messages: Syntax error — syntax error; Unexpected token — something is wrong in the code; Undefined variable — the variable is not defined.
Phrases from the documentation: returns…, takes an argument…, example usage…
All this will be remembered naturally - just in the process of working with the code.
How to improve English for a programmer?
Read the documentation with a translator.
Use DeepL or Google Translate to quickly understand the meaning.
Watch the video on YouTube.
Channels like Fireship, Traversy Media, Programming with Mosh explain simply and with subtitles.
Read short articles.
For example, we have an excellent daily practice in Kodik.
Write variables and commits in English.
This is a habit that makes the code understandable to colleagues.
Chat with bots.
Chat with ChatGPT or other assistants — a safe way to practice.
How long does it take?
If you start from level A2–B1, then in 3–6 months of active immersion you will:
you will begin to understand the documentation without translation;
you will stop being afraid of mistakes;
you will learn to look for solutions in English;
and you will write clear code.
The main thing is not to learn the language separately, learn via code.
English in IT is not a barrier, but a tool. Start small: understand mistakes, look for answers, and read the documentation. The language will improve itself as you grow as a developer.
✨ And if you don't want to study alone, we have Kodik!
Kodik is not just an application, but your personal mentor in the world of programming. It explains everything in simple words, helps to consolidate knowledge in practice and gives cool achievements for success 🏅
And we also have a warm and friendly community on telegram, where everyone can ask a question and get an answer - without judgment and unnecessary theory. We solve problems together, analyze mistakes and support each other on the way to the goal.
Learning programming with Codic is really fun and interesting 💙