Talk about friendship with English and Mandarin stories

Let a character start the conversation

A story gives you a shared situation to explore without asking your child to explain a personal experience straight away. Notice what a character does, how someone might feel and what happens next. Keep the conversation in the language your child wants to use.

The three stories below offer different starting points: meeting a new classmate, greeting someone at the park and making art together. Preview one story and choose the situation your child finds interesting today. There is no need to compare your child’s behaviour with Tiffy’s.

Story 1: a welcome at a new school

In Tiffy Meets New Friend, Tiffy moves to Greenfield and initially feels nervous and shy. A friendly girl named Mia helps her find a connection. After watching, ask: “What could make a new person feel welcome?” Your child might suggest a greeting, sharing a picture or showing someone where to sit.

Find friend / 朋友, school / 学校 and happy / 开心 in the vocabulary cards. Listen to a word and point to the part of the story it brings to mind. An ordinary word button uses a device voice when available; the bilingual video is another listening example.

Story 2: small steps at the park

Tiffy Builds Friendship Bridge compares making friends to building a bridge, beginning with a smile and a greeting. Talk about what each small step might look like. A child does not need to smile, speak or join a game before they feel ready.

Draw a bridge together and put one friendly idea on each plank. You could include saying hello, asking someone’s name, offering to draw together or listening to their idea. Let your child choose which ideas belong on the bridge and which they would prefer to leave out.

Story 3: two ways to make a picture

In A New Friendship Through Art, Mei uses ink painting and Tiffy uses bright crayons. Their different ways of making art become a reason to create together. Ask: “What could two people make if they had different ideas?”

Try a shared drawing on plain paper. Each person adds one shape, colour or detail, with space for the other person’s idea. Talk about the picture rather than deciding whose part is better. If a shared page feels difficult, make two pictures and display them side by side.

Try one welcome phrase in your own conversation

You can practise “Hello” / “你好” or “Let’s draw together” / “我们一起画画吧” as a family role-play. One person pretends to arrive and the other offers a greeting. Swap roles if your child wants to. These are suggested phrases for you to say together, not additional lines in the story recording.

Keep pronunciation examples connected to listening. Use the story video or the existing word audio for the vocabulary it contains. A gesture or a response in another home language can be part of the conversation too.

1. Watch or read one friendship story.
2. Notice one welcoming action.
3. Choose a word or greeting to try.
4. Draw or act out a small welcome together.

Choose a next visit together

Use the parent discussion question below the story, or ask: “Which part would you like to see again?” Save the story as a favourite so it is easy to reopen on this browser and device.

A child may want to talk only about the colours, the park or a character they liked. Follow that interest and leave the friendship question for another day. The activity is an invitation to share ideas, not a test of social skills.