Namasté, all. I'm writing with a difficulty for which I'm seeking remedy.

I recently enrolled in the Jyotish correspondence course offered by the American Institute of Vedic Studies. I've completed two prior Institute classes without difficulty and anticipated no trouble with these lessons, since the course required no prior training. However, the course materials so far do seem to assume a pre-existing familiarity with astrology. (To give one example, words like "ascendant" and "opposition" are used before they have been formally defined.) Because I have very little knowledge of Jyotish, I am struggling to move forward with my lessons and hope to gain some clarity in these matters.

Could anyone recommend a simple English-language book that introduces and explains Jyotish concepts?