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Abstract In this work-in-progress paper, the emphasis is to understand the perceptions about which language should be the first programming language. Computer programming is a fundamental skill for novice engineers. However, over time, multiple programming languages have emerged and are being used as the first language for students. While in modern times, many schools around the globe, particularly in the USA, consider Python's syntax simplicity and versatility as a way to go, other places and traditional computer scientists consider C++'s efficiency as their choice. Similarly, many engineering schools introduce MATLAB as the first programming language. While these decisions are made at the university or departmental level, novice programmers, when they begin programming, are affected by this choice in more than one way as it helps them not only understand how to program but also carve the path for their future choices on kind of programs they will pursue (e.g., web applications, machine learning, or embedded systems). To understand which programming language may be relevant today, especially with the boom of AI technologies, we are taking a step backward to collect perceptions on which language may be suitable. For this purpose, using an open-ended questionnaire, we collected the data from 22 members of the instructional team (8 faculty members, 14 peer mentors/undergraduate teaching assistants) in a large R1 Southeastern university. More specifically, this paper answers the question: Which computer programming language should be introduced first to novice programmers? The paper's results are novel as they provide comparative insights into the viewpoints of faculty and peer mentors. Keywords: programming language, novice programmers, language choice, faculty perspective, students' perspective
Cho et al. (2024) studied this question.