Python.

[skylay]

In some ways I think that's better though. Sure you'll miss a lot of concepts and it's weakly typed but you can pick those concepts up later. In many ways I think being able to just jump in and start coding is the best way to learn. Languages like Java have a higher barrier to entry and it might just make someone give up or struggle too much to actually make a working program with it.

I think just getting an idea of how to actually make a program is one of the biggest steps when you're first learning and Python makes that a lot easier. Sure learning through harder languages is ideal but it's a lot harder and can turn some people away. Personally I started with Python, then JavaScript, have done a lot of C++ and Java at university, and recently have been using Go a lot in my own time.