The Grand Challenge Episode 4: Regine v Grandma

Thirteen-year-old Regine Ng will learn how to tell a story in Hokkien, while her grandmother Ng Bee will need to perform a cross-talk in English and Chinese, in this episode of The Grand Challenge. PHOTO: ZAOBAO.SG

SINGAPORE - Have you ever found it difficult to communicate with someone much older than you because of the age gap and language barrier?

Thirteen-year-old budding actress Regine Ng was raised and cared for by her 64-year-old grandmother Ng Bee, while her parents worked to support the family of eight.

SPH Brightcove Video

Like many others in her generation, Madam Ng did not get to finish her primary school education as her family was tight on finances and she had to quit school to help out with the family business.

Although Madam Ng attended a Chinese school, she grew up speaking very little Mandarin and is more comfortable expressing herself in Hokkien.

Regine, on the other hand, is fluent in both English and Mandarin. Although she understands basic Hokkien because of her grandmother, she is unable to speak the dialect.

Sometimes, the duo will face conflict arising from the difficulty in understanding each other. Once, Regine was in a hurry to leave home and was frantically looking for her power bank. Madam Ng struggled to understand her granddaughter because she didn't know what a "power bank" was, and they ended up quarrelling.

In the fourth episode of The Grand Challenge, Regine will coach her grandmother to perform a cross-talk in English and Chinese, while Madam Ng will teach her granddaughter to tell an entire story in Hokkien.

Will Regine be able to grasp the dialect in 10 days? Can shy Madam Ng conquer her stage fright and surprise the audience? Watch to find out.


About The Grand Challenge

The Grand Challenge is a 5-part series, with each episode featuring a grandchild-grandparent pair tasked to learn a skill from each other in 10 days. They will then face off in a "duel" and family members decide the winner by voting.

The game show-like format seeks to explore the inter-generational dynamics and foster bonding in the process, and promises to bring audience on a heart-warming, fun-filled journey. All episodes come with Chinese and English subtitles.

Viewers can also vote for their favourite pair of contestants and stand to win attractive prizes here.

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.