I think this is ultimately an empirical question about "the average beginner." The main issue I have with PlusCal (aside from being more complicated in that it has complicated constructs like subroutines and a stack) is that it could confuse people into thinking that specifying (in TLA+/PlusCal) resembles programming because the PlusCal syntax resembles programming. This can lead to confusion down the line. This is why I think it's a question of would you rather be confused now or later? But if someone finds it easier to start with PlusCal, I see no issue with that.