我浏览了一下评论，似乎没有人提到www.CodeBetter.com上的编程基础。虽然它需要一些基础知识，但它肯定是学习过程中的下一步。

从Python中的Turtle图形开始。

我会使用Python标准自带的海龟图形。它是可视化的，简单的，你可以使用这个环境来引入许多编程概念，比如迭代和过程调用，然后再深入语法。考虑下面的python交互会话:

>>> from turtle import *
>>> setup()
>>> title("turtle test")
>>> clear()
>>>
>>> #DRAW A SQUARE
>>> down()        #pen down
>>> forward(50)   #move forward 50 units
>>> right(90)     #turn right 90 degrees
>>> forward(50)
>>> right(90)
>>> forward(50)
>>> right(90)
>>> forward(50)
>>>
>>> #INTRODUCE ITERATION TO SIMPLIFY SQUARE CODE
>>> clear()
>>> for i in range(4):
        forward(50)
        right(90)
>>>
>>> #INTRODUCE PROCEDURES   
>>> def square(length):
        down()
        for i in range(4):
            forward(length)
            right(90)
>>>
>>> #HAVE STUDENTS PREDICT WHAT THIS WILL DRAW
>>> for i in range(50):
        up()
        left(90)
        forward(25)
        square(i)
>>>
>>> #NOW HAVE THE STUDENTS WRITE CODE TO DRAW
>>> #A SQUARE 'TUNNEL' (I.E. CONCENTRIC SQUARES
>>> #GETTING SMALLER AND SMALLER).
>>>
>>> #AFTER THAT, MAKE THE TUNNEL ROTATE BY HAVING
>>> #EACH SUCCESSIVE SQUARE TILTED

在尝试完成最后两个任务时，他们会有很多失败的尝试，但这些失败在视觉上很有趣，他们会很快学会，因为他们试图弄清楚为什么没有画出他们期望的样子。

一开始我遇到了很多困难，但最简单的便是简单的机制。概念，我立刻接受了。但错过了结尾处的大括号?在一个非平凡的程序中，这很容易做到，但通常很难调试。

所以，我的建议是:不要低估基础(比如良好的打字)。这听起来像是补救，甚至有些愚蠢，但当我在学习过程的早期偶然发现输入代码结构的完整“骨架”然后填充它的简单技术时，它为我省去了很多痛苦。

对于Python中的"if"语句，可以从以下语句开始:

if  :

在C / c++ / c# / Java:

if () 
{

}

在Pascal / Delphi:

If () Then
Begin

End

然后，在开始和结束标记之间输入。一旦这成为一个牢固的习惯，你就会不假思索地去做，更多的大脑就会被释放出来做有趣的事情。我承认，这不是一个非常浮夸的建议，但我个人认为它有很多好处!

编辑:[Justin Standard] 谢谢你的贡献，Wing。与你说的相关，我试图帮助我哥哥记住python作用域的语法的一件事是，每当有冒号时，他需要缩进下一行，而每当他认为应该缩进时，最好有一个冒号结束前一行。

我认为，因为你想学习编程而学习编程，永远比不上因为你想做某事而学习编程。如果你能找到一些你弟弟感兴趣的东西，因为他想让它起作用，你可以把谷歌留给他，他会做的。他会让你在他身边检查他是否走对了路。

I think one of the biggest problems with teaching programming in the abstract is that it's not got a real-world context that the learner can get emotionally invested in. Programming is hard, and there has to be some real payoff to make it worth the effort of doing it. In my case, I'd done computer science at uni, learned Pascal and COBOL there, and learned BASIC at home before that, but I never really got anywhere with it until I became a self-employed web designer back in the 90s and my clients needed functionality on their web sites, and were willing to pay about 10x more for functionality than for design. Putting food on the table is a hell of a motivator!

所以我学习了Perl，然后是ASP/VBScript，然后是JavaScript，然后是Flash/ActionScript，然后是PHP——所有这些都是为了让我想要的东西发生。

There have already been a bunch of great answers, but for an absolute beginner, I would wholeheartedly recommend Hackety Hack. It was created by the unreasonably prolific why_the_lucky_stiff specifically to provide a BASIC/LOGO/Pascal-like environment for new programmers to experiment in. It's essentially a slick Ruby IDE with some great libraries (flash video, IM, web server) and interactive lessons. It makes a good pitch for programming, as it chose lessons that do fun, useful things. "Hello, world" may not impress right off the bat, but creating a custom IM client in 20 minutes can inspire someone to keep learning. Have fun!

Something you should be very mindful of while teaching your brother to program is for him not to rely too heavily on you. Often when I find myself helping others they will begin to think of me as answer book to all of their questions and instead of experimenting to find an answer they simply ask me. Often the best teacher is experimentation and every time your brother has a question like "What will happen if I add 2 to a string?" you should tell him to try it out and see for himself. Also I have noticed that when I cannot get a concept through to someone, it helps to see some sample code where we can look at each segment individually and explain it piece by piece. As a side note people new to programming often have trouble with the idea of object oriented programming, they will say they understand it when you teach it to them but will not get a clear concept of it until actually implementing it.