I have a couple of friends interested in computer programming, but they're non-CS graduates; some of them have very little experience in software testing field (some of them took some basic software testing courses). I am going to be working with them on teaching basic computer programming, and computer science fundamentals (data structures etc).

My questions are;

• What language should I start with?
• What are essential computer science topics that I should cover before jumping them into computer programming?
• What readings can I incorporate to make the topic interesting and non-overwhelming?
• If we want to spend a year on it, what topics should take priority and must be covered in 12 months?

Again, these are non computer science folks, and I want to keep the learning as much fun as possible.

Thanks everyone.