It might be worth checking out Bitlash: http://bitlash.net
Bitlash is an interpreter and command shell for a tiny language that runs entirely on Arduino. It's my take on what a modern beginner's language would look like on a '328-class machine.
Bitlash is easy to learn and teaches good stepping-stone habits for the C++ environment. You can extend the language by defining functions from the command line, or by integrating Bitlash into your sketch and exposing your C functions to the Bitlash language.
Code and documentation at http://bitlash.net
-br
I know C++, it was the first thing I learned, but I wanted to use BASIC or JAVA.
Thanks everybody for the answers.