Perceptions of teacher and students towards integrating computational thinking into language education: A pilot study

As a problem-solving skill, Computational Thinking (CT) is getting more and more popular beyond the spectrum of Computer Science. Scientists and researchers in the field of K-12 education particularly have a passion for it. Language skill, an essential ability for every individual, is one of the most significant capabilities which students need to cultivate. It is possible that students can improve their language skill to communicate when adopting or learning CT. Insufficient literature has explored the feasibility of connecting language education with CT activities. This study aims to investigate teacher and students’ perceptions towards integrating CT into language education and explores how to improve the integration of CT into language education with the elements of programming. In order to achieve these objectives, the researcher conducted a pilot case study by interviewing one teacher and four students who have attended the maker space lesson in an elementary school in Hong Kong. The interview results show that the teacher and students hold positive perceptions towards integrating CT into language classes. In addition, their recommendations to better connect CT with language education through programming instruments were presented. Copyright © 2018 Asia-Pacific Society for Computers in Education.