In the 21st century, information technology (IT) is used in almost every aspect of our lives. Being able to use it, keeping up with its rapid development, and improving is everyone's goal and challenge in a fast-changing society.

Areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, data science, blockchain, and the digital transformation of enterprises are changing rapidly. And while some argue that AI can reduce the demand for programmers, the reality is that it cannot yet replace programmers. AI can make a programmer's job easier by increasing productivity, but it still requires human oversight and an assessment of compliance with quality and safety standards. Thus, building skills in the application of information technology and learning programming languages empowers people to think critically and logically, opens up a wide range of job prospects, and enhances competitive opportunities.

In recent years, the learners in IT degree programmes can be divided into two groups: students who have come out of school and adults (those who have already completed higher education) who are participating in re-training programmes.

Pupils/students:
Although computational thinking and the teaching of information technology are a high priority, the knowledge of first-year students enrolled in universities (even in technological fields) is uneven and fragmented. What could be the reasons for this?
- Due to profiling, students do not choose technology subjects in the upper grades, so they arrive with knowledge acquired before grade 10, which had been partially forgotten.
- The curriculum in computer science is very broad and fragmented. Everything is taught bit by bit.

Adults:
Rapidly evolving IT require constant updating/expansion of knowledge and upgrading of skills, i.e. lifelong learning. Changing working conditions and the labour market often require retraining. In response to the need for adult training/re-training, specialised training programmes are being developed to develop new IT skills.
A variety of effective teaching methods are needed to encourage the choice of IT in schools and technology studies in higher education. For this purpose, the following methods were analyzed and applied: frontal theory, collaborative, project based, flipped classroom, free style.

The aim is to identify which programming learning methods are acceptable for IT students and adult re-training participants.

The article will present the summary of survey data from participants who are learning to code, as well as proposed methods that are appropriate for use with each of these groups. The method of questionnaire (an online tool) was used for the quantitative approach to determine the attitudes of students and adult re-training participants towards learning to coding. The questionnaire included both closed and open-ended questions.

The article is based on theoretical positions that highlight constructivist attitudes (Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory), educational environments conducive to student empowerment in the distance learning system, the prerequisites for the emergence of deep learning, the specificity of modern learning and higher education, and constructivism, which describes learning as a process of seeking knowledge, i.e., a process of combining specialised information sources and adult learning theory (Knowles, 1964) based on needs and interests, useful learning materials, life-related situations, and learning-enhancing environments.

Keywords: Education, teaching methods, teaching programming languages, adult re-training, teaching students of information technologies.