When I learned programming, I didn't know any other programmers. I was sitting in my room writing code for a game. I was very interesting in language and linguistics at the time I started learning to code, so I found programming to be more of a linguistic endeavor. There are keywords, there is syntax, and there is a grammar, so to speak. Writing code was similar to me as writing a subset of the English language, and coding was more a process translation. That said, I don't agree that learning a programming language should count as learning a second language in high school.

There is no right or wrong answer here. My opinion on the matter is just how I personally view the process of writing code. If others enjoy the logical side of writing code, they might view programming as a more logical and mathematical process overall. All I recommend is that you emphasize the aspect you enjoy most about it, and that will lead to the most productive outcomes.