Trump's Granddaughter, 5, Sings in Mandarin and Goes Viral on Social Media
Mention the words “Trump” and “Chinese” and you may not imagine anything beyond strained relations and harsh diplomatic language across two nations. A recent video shared by Ivanka Trump, however, may help dissuade such negativity.
Following a visit Wednesday to celebrate the Chinese New Year at the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., President Donald Trump’s eldest daughter posted a video of her daughter Arabella Kushner singing a song in Mandarin in honor of Lunar Year celebrations.
Ivanka wrote, “Arabella singing a song she learned for #ChineseNewYear. Wishing everyone an amazing year to come during these days of celebration. 新年快乐”
Views and reactions across Facebook and Instagram have been exploding all day, with the expected amount of social and political commentary. But the predominant mood appears to be adoration of the 5-year-old’s voice and admiration of her apparent grasp of Mandarin.
This isn’t the first time Arabella has charmed millions with her Chinese-language skills. Back in November 2016, her mother shared a similar video of the president’s granddaughter reciting a classic Mandarin poem. In this previous case, the young girl happened to impress Chinese media and the public.
Beyond possibly applying some cute bandages on any hemorrhaging relations between the U.S. and China, Ivanka’s gracious sharing of her daughter’s skills in Chinese may also help promote and persuade fans and followers to embrace the benefits of early childhood foreign language development. In the past, parents and educators feared that learning a second language too early could pose some drawbacks, including delays in learning language skills overall, and general confusion in the young ones. Since then, studies have proven these concerns to be unwarranted.
Learning foreign languages in early years is believed now to be more than beneficial. “The bilingual brain develops more densely,” points out WebMD, “giving it an advantage in various abilities and skills, according to new research.”
Researchers like Professor Barbara Lust of Cornell University — who has been studying the learning of language in childhood for over 30 years — have pinpointed that “cognitive advantages follow from becoming bilingual.” She says that “these cognitive advantages can contribute to a child’s future academic success.”
Besides the cognitive and cultural benefits of picking up a foreign language, if your little one starts to learn Spanish, Arabic, or Mandarin at an early age, just think of all the likes and hearts you can get on social media with videos like Ivanka’s.
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