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.