A Queen Village elementary school has launched a pilot Italian language program for kindergarten, first, and second grades. The Italian version of Old McDonald was being sung, in Italian, by the second grade class at the Meredith School. Maestro Matteo Greco of Milan is their teacher on a one year internship. The program is a partnership with the Italian Consulate and the Philadelphia School District.

Maestro Grecco says young children have the ability to pick up a foreign language easier than older students. “We lose the ability around 11 years old and then that’s it. And so I think the best way is to do everything before that age, because they really can learn a language,” he said. School officials say the program could expand to other schools in Philadelphia in the future.