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Mandarin Bilingual

Trudeau studentson Lunar New Year

The Vancouver School Board offers two Mandarin Bilingual programs:

  1. Early Mandarin Bilingual at Norquay Elementary 
  2. Mandarin Bilingual at Trudeau Elementary (Gr 4-7)

Early Mandarin Bilingual Program (Gr K-7)

The Early Mandarin program is located at Norquay Elementary School. It is a language instruction program where children learn the language and study in the language for part of the day. The day is structured to allow 50% of time to be in Mandarin and 50% in English.

Additional Information

The Mandarin Bilingual Program (Gr 4 - 7)

This program at Pierre Elliott Trudeau Elementary is offered to students from Grade 4 to Grade 7 and is a full day, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The core curriculum for this program is taught in English. Mandarin is taught through Mandarin Language Arts. The program will develop mandarin oral communication skills along with reading and writing skills using Chinese characters. Most students start in Grade 4. Students entering Grades 5 and 6 with some Chinese literacy skills will also be considered if space is available.

Additional Information

Registration Information

Applications for District Choice Programs in Grades 1 to 7 will accepted be online between January 7 and February 4, 2025.  Please check back soon for the application site link!

District Choice Programs are offered based on sufficient student applications.


Teaching the language grade four and five students is much more than helping them understand the Chinese sounds and characters. “It is a great opportunity for the kids to learn the language,” says Mandarin Bilingual Program teacher Charlotte Yao at Pierre Elliot Trudeau Elementary School. “In language, you also teach the culture and performing arts.”


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