Research Finding

B. Research Finding

State Islamic Institute of Palangka Raya has nine (9) foreign students from Thailand that have been continuing their study there. The foreign students are as the result from Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between IAIN Palangka Raya and The High Islamic Council of Patani, Thailand. Of course, between Indonesia and Thailand have its own culture which differ one to another. The difference of culture and background of life caused barriers for Thai students.

Based on observation and interview that have been done by researcher. It had been known that the most of obstacles faced by Thai students as follows:

1. Verbal Communication

1.1 Language Communication Looking at the data finding, it could be seen that language communication became the first barrier for Thai stud ents living in Ma‘had Al-Jami‘ah IAIN Palangka Raya. It was known from what the participans of this study showed in the field. Participant

: Nurisan Date st : September 21 , 2017

: Male Dormitory of IAIN Palangka Raya

That was like what Jang shared in interview on September, 21 2017 in Ma‘had : “Awal datang ke sini kesulitan bagi saya yang terbesar ialah tentang

komunikasi seperti ketika saya butuh bantuan dari teman-teman atau musyrifah yang di Ma‟had”. ‗At the first here, the biggest difficult for me is about communication like when I need a help from friends or tutors in Ma‘had‘.

Language is the prime obstacle for Jang to communicate with other member in Ma‘had Al-Jami‘ah IAIN Palangka Raya. That means without language the

communication will be difficult to do by her. It was because the communication happened with people from diffirent culture. The communication‘s problem limited her social relation with other local members at Ma‘had Al-Jami‘ah IAIN

Palangka Raya like when she wanted to ask a help from local members. She got hard to express what she wanted. That was why communication is important for to improve.

Language is the way for human to communicate with others. That means without language the communication will be difficult to do by them. The communication must be happened with people with the same culture and also with people from diffirent culture. The commun ication‘s problem faced by who builds communication with people from different background such as language, social relationship, perception and norm is going to have some barriers in their communication process.

That was like what was shared in interview :

Participant

: Askanda Date st : September 21 , 2017

: Male Dormitory of IAIN Palangka Raya

That was like what Askanda said in interview on September, 21 2017 in Ma‘had :

“Awal-awal datang di Ma‟had ini saya mempunyai beberapa kesulitan terutama yaitu tentang bahasa, dengan karena sebelum ini saya belum pernah belajar dalam mana-mana kampus di Indonesia, contohnya seperti ketika dalam memahami apa yang diajari atau diperintah oleh dosen di kampus. Mereka menggunakan bahasa Indonesia, maka menjadi kesulitan

bagi saya”.

‗For the first time, I came to Ma‘had. I got difficulty especially about language. It was because I had not learnt Indonesian language anywhere in Indonesia. For example, when I tried to understand what was being taught or instructed by lecturers in campus. They used Indonesia language so that it

became hard for me‘.

It could be known that in the first coming to Indonesia. The lack of local language made AS hard to communicate with local students. It was felt difficult for AS to understand what to be said by local members. For example, when she asked a help from local students when she wanted to. The lack of local language became the biggest of communication problem living at Ma‘had Al-Jami‘ah of IAIN Palangka Raya for Thai students.

That was like what Muniroh said that: Participant

: Muniroh Date st : September 21 , 2017

: Male Dormitory of IAIN Palangka Raya

Muniroh added in interview on September, 21 2017 in Ma‘had that : “Ooh memang awal pertama itu ya memang susah untuk berbahasa tdk

pernah berbahasa indonesia tapi kami kan di sana kan bahasa yang kami pakai kan bahasa melayu jadi kami menyesuaikan lah begitu”.

‗Ooh ya, in the first coming, it was really difficult to have communication because we had not used Indonesian language before. There, we used to

speak Malay language so we tried to adapt‘. Muniroh assumed that he had not learnt Indonesian language so that it made

her difficult when she had to face Indonesian language in her new environtment.

But M felt that he was so helped by Malay language because more less the same with Indonesian language.

Where different languages or communication rules apply, simple tasks are suddenly able to become very difficult which is because language is the main medium to build communication. It caused hard for Thai students to interect and to socialize with host people at Ma‘had Al-Jami‘ah (Culturewise, 2015, p. 15)

The researcher saw that the lack of knowledge about house language such as Indonesian language becomes first challenge for Thai students living at Ma‘had Al- Jami‘ah IAIN Palangka Raya. It made them difficult to socialize with the local students and local lecturers. The other challenge came from the one of ma‘had‘s rule which obligated all members including Thai students to speak in Arabic or English. The inability produced the difficulties for them to undersand local students‘ conversations at Ma‘had Al-Jami‘ah IAIN Palangka Raya.

One case that was also challenging for Thai student when they communicate with local member. They had to faced local members that used their daily language.

It was just like in interview that : Participant

: Askanda Date st : September 21 , 2017

: Male Dormitory of IAIN Palangka Raya

It just liked what Askanda said in interview on September, 21 2017 in Ma‘had :

“Pertama kali ada kata kata yang kami sulit bedakan kaya contohnya „barang‟ dengan „bareng‟ saya kira sama ternyata beda. „Barang‟ itu kan benda ya kak ya dan „bareng‟ itu kan maksud nya sama-sama kaya ayu baimbai. Sekarang baru saya paham”.

‗In the first, there were words that we were difficult like „barang‟ and „bareng‟ that I thought same but not. „Barang‟ means a thing right and „bareng‟ means together. Now, I have known it‘.

The problem came when Askanda wanted to have communication with local members and local member used their daily language when they spoke. So, it forced her to understand what being said which the word or the sentences was surely different in using and meaning. In the first time, she got confused to comprehend between ‗barang‟ and ‗bareng‟ meaning because the sound was almost the same. That was only the one example which given by them to describe what was the problem faced by Thai stu dents in Ma‘had Al-Jami‘ah IAIN Palangka Raya.

Following Domvile (2007:37) viewed that ―international students also have struggle with local host language and culture‖. Unfamiliarity with the new educational system often creates difficulties for international students. This new educational environment puts more pressure on international students as they are required to work hard coping with the new demands as international students.

In line with Askanda, Tawfik told in interview on September, 21 2017 in Ma‘had that :

Participant

: Tawfik Date st : September 21 , 2017

: Male Dormitory of IAIN Palangka Raya

“Pas awal datang kan jujur saya sendiri juga nggak terlalu paham bahasa indonesia mungkin sebagian kata paham tapi sebagian kan tidak seperti kata sepatu sendal dan beberapa kata lagi yang sekiranya pas saya datang

pasti saya nggak paham nggak ngerti”. ‗When I was in the first coming, I myself did not understand Indonesian

language. There were some words that I could understand but some words were not also. The words liked „sepatu‟ and „sendal‟ . And, there were still some words that I was in the first c oming I would not understand‘.

The lack of knowledge about house language such as Indonesian language becomes first challenge for Tawfik living at Ma‘had Al-Jami‘ah IAIN Palangka Raya. It made him difficult to socialize with the local members. The other challenge came from when he had not understand meaning of words such sepatu and sendal. The inability produced the difficulties for them to undersand local

students‘ conversations at Ma‘had Al-Jami‘ah IAIN Palangka Raya. This thing did not stop on the case only because the challenge is more

complex when Thai students should face the rule of Ma‘had which obligated all students including Thai students that living in Ma‘had Al-Jami‘ah to speak

English or Arabic there. That was really challenging them because willing or not they had to learn English or Arabic but in the other side they have to learn Indonesian language to help them adapt in new environtment.

It just like what Askanda said in interview on September, 21 2017 in Ma‘had that : Participant

: Askanda Date st : September 21 , 2017

: Male Dormitory of IAIN Palangka Raya

“Iya beda kan sini suku Jawa di Thailand juga punya budaya yang beragam dalam komunikasi mungkin ada yang beda aja kak”. ‗‗Yes, that is different like here there is Java tribe. Thailand also has various cultures in communication. It may be apperead the different brother‘

That is often for the local students use their mother tongue like dayakness, banjarness, or javaness when they interact. The difference of the language being

used among Thai students and Indonesian people at Ma‘had Al-Jami‘ah has been prime obstacle for Thai students. There are Dayaknees, Javaness, or Banjarness

language that is not seldom used by local students at Ma‘had Al-Jami‘ah IAIN Palangka Raya. It limits them to communicate with the local people around them such as students and their lecturers.

Following Domvile (2007:37) viewed that ―international students also have struggle with local host language and culture‖. Unfamiliarity with the new

educational system often creates difficulties for international students. This new educational environment puts more pressure on international students as they are required to work hard coping with the new demands as international students.

That is often for the local students use their mother tongue like dayakness, banjarness, or javaness when they interact. The difference of the language being used among Thai students and Indonesian people at Ma‘had Al-Jami‘ah has been prime obstacle for Thai students. There are Dayaknees, Javaness, or Banjarness language that is not seldom used by local students at Ma‘had Al-Jami‘ah IAIN

Palangka Raya. It limits them to communicate with the local people around them such as students and their lecturers.

2. Non-Verbal Communication Non-verbal communication involved all stimulants besides verbal stimulant. In a communication setting which produced by people and the people that use environtment. It has potential value for sender and receiver; so that the definition involved intended behavior and also unintended behavior as a part of communication event overall (Mulyana, 2010:198).

The wrongness which happened in understanding messages did not only occure in verbal messages but also happenen in non-verbal communication. The characteristics give more information about target. Facial face, movement, physical, and all which showed to non-verbal communication.

1.1 Perception Perception is a process which cause an individu becomes aware about his/her surrounding and then interpret it in order to make meaning. In this case, Thai students as International students have their own culture. In their new surroundings, they have to face other culture which not same with them. The 1.1 Perception Perception is a process which cause an individu becomes aware about his/her surrounding and then interpret it in order to make meaning. In this case, Thai students as International students have their own culture. In their new surroundings, they have to face other culture which not same with them. The

It was just like what was in interview: Participant

: Bariah Date st : September 21 , 2017

: Male Dormitory of IAIN Palangka Raya

“Ketika saya pertama-tama di Asrama, saya bertemu kakak senior yang wajahnya seperti acuh. Sama sekali tidak ada senyum di wajahnya. Sama sekali tidak ada senyum di wajahnya. Saat itu, saya berfikir bahwa kakak senior itu tadi pasti marah, nggak baik seperti itu jadi saya nggak nyaman dan kaya takut itu. Tapi ketika saya sudah tahu kakak seniornya ternyata

nggak seperti saya pikir hemm”. ‗When I was in the first at Ma‘had. I met one senior that her face looked

like not care. Totally no smile on her face. Then, I thought that she was really anggry and not kind. That made me felt not comfortable and affraid of it. But when I have known her, sh e is not liked what I thought before hemm‘.

There happened misunderstading among B as Thai student with her senior at Ma‘had. The wrong perception occured because the facial expression fro the her senior at Ma‘had that was also student of IAIN Palangka Raya. Actually, the

thing would not happen if they know and understand the characters and behavoirs one to another.

Tawfik also added in interview on September, 21 2017 in Ma‘had that:

Participant

: Tawfik Date st : September 21 , 2017

: Male Dormitory of IAIN Palangka Raya

“Sesuai dengan kondisi anggapan orang indonesia itu kami dari negara luar pasti bisa bahasa inggris padahal kami kurang bisa juga jadi itu cuma untuk daily talking daily speaking itu kan insya Allah saya kuasailah jadi

komunikasi kami menyesuaikan saja dengan mereka”. ‗It liked what Indonesian members thought that we are from abroad surely

could speak English. But actually, we were not like what they assumed before. We could just know a little and only for daily talking insya Allah I could. So the communication adapted following their situation‘.

What Indonesian students thought before was not like what was real in the field. Tawfik assumed that was because Indonesian people perceived that if there were people or students from abroad meant they could speak English even it was

not. And it happen when he was in Ma‘had. Local member tried to have communication with them by English or Arabic.

1.2 Dress Communication That is something that should be faced by them as one statement said that ―in cross-cultural situations where we have to work in a differen cultural environment or inter-cultural situations where a number of cultures work together, these cultural differences can lead to all manner of misunderstand ing‖ (Culturewise, p.10).

According to informans, they got strange when they first came to Indonesia and Lived in Ma‘had Al-Jami‘ah. They wondered with the way moslem Indonesian especially women use veil and dress.

As Bariah said in interview that:

Participant

: Bariah Date st : September 21 , 2017

: Male Dormitory of IAIN Palangka Raya

“Kalau ini kalau berpakaian pakaian beda cara nya dengan kami Thailand” ‗if the way we use the dress. The way how use the dress is different with us Thailand‘.

Thai students told that they still used how the way they wear the dress even in different places. As Askanda said that: Participant

: Askanda Date st : September 21 , 2017

: Male Dormitory of IAIN Palangka Raya

As Askanda said that: “kalau pakaian kak. Yang biasanya kami perempuan pakai sarung orang

sini kada pakai sarung jarang kak ”. ‗such as the dress, we as the moslem women usually wear sarung but this place is seldom to do that‘.

Thai students told that they still used how the way they wear the dress even in different places. Especially the women, they usually wear closed clothes. They are strong in keeping their culture and also their religion lesson. Participant

: Kholiah Date st : September 21 , 2017

: Male Dormitory of IAIN Palangka Raya

Similar with Askanda, Kholiah said that: “kalau budaya kita yang berbeda pakaian iya pakaian. Kami tu bia pakai

jubah baju kurung kaya gitu kalau di asrama itu sehari-hari nya kebiasaan pakai sarung gitu kalau orang indonesia jarang kan kak pakai sarung” ‗If the culture, we are different in the way we wear dress. We usually wear closed clothes like that. If we are in dormitory all day, we like to wear sarung even Indonesian members are seldom to wear it right‘.

Thai students told that they still apply how the way they wear the dress even in different country. Especially the women, they usually wear closed clothes. They are strong in keeping their culture and also their religion lesson.

Non-verbal communication involved all stimulants besides verbal stimulant. In a communication setting which produced by people and the people that use environtment. It has potential value for sender and receiver; so that the definition involved intended behavior and also unintended behavior as a part of communication event overall (Mulyana, 2010:198).

The wrongness which happened in understanding messages did not only occure in verbal messages but also happenen in non-verbal communication. The characteristics give more information about target. Facial face, movement, physical, and all which showed to non-verbal communication.

1.3 Value and Attitude Communication The researcher observed that the lack of knowledge and information about Indonesia especially Mid-Kalimantan and its culture which were felt by Thai 1.3 Value and Attitude Communication The researcher observed that the lack of knowledge and information about Indonesia especially Mid-Kalimantan and its culture which were felt by Thai

interaction with their new friends from Indonesia that also lived at Ma‘had Al- Jami‘ah IAIN Palangka Raya. The lack of knowledge and information about

Indonesia especially Mid-Kalimantan and its culture became the casual factor why they got obstacle to interact with their new environment. They had not had exact description of situation and character of Mid-Kalimantan.

That was like In interview : Participant

: Niha Date st : September 21 , 2017

: Male Dormitory of IAIN Palangka Raya

According to Niha said that: “Budaya tu kaya salam tu kalau di sini cewek sama cowok tu biasa ja kalau

salam tempat kami tu nggak boleh salam”. ‗The culture is like salam. If here, woman or man looks like normal to do. In

my place, that is forbidden to do‘. For Thai students shake hand is something forbidden in their country. But

they are surprised when they saw here something forbidden for them was done here. Even in their country, that is not allowed.

The cross cultural problems arise when we have no idea to cope with the different cultural environment. The problems transform to be some barriers for the new comers especially in the way they interact and communicate verbal or The cross cultural problems arise when we have no idea to cope with the different cultural environment. The problems transform to be some barriers for the new comers especially in the way they interact and communicate verbal or

That was like what Muniroh said that: Participant

: Muniroh Date st : September 21 , 2017

: Male Dormitory of IAIN Palangka Raya

“kalau kami di sana itu sama laki beda itu kada bisa tapi di sini bisa dan biasa kalau di sini. Gaul gaul kalau gaul sama lakian kaya tu berteman tapi

telalu dekat banget nggak boleh”. ‗There, we are not allowed to get closer with men but here it can happen and

used to be here. Making friends with men is okey but not allowed gettin closer. That is forbidden‘.

Besides running on the process adaption, Thai students absoulutely do not only learn the house language or Indonesian language but also know t communicate with local students and to master some things that have relation

with the situation around at Ma‘had Al-Jami‘ah IAIN Palangka Raya such as norm, local habit, lifestyle, etc.

In interview, that was stated that : Participant

: Bariah Date st : September 21 , 2017

: Male Dormitory of IAIN Palangka Raya

Similar with Muniroh, Bariah also told that: “Menurut saya ya kak ya eee awal nya itu kan di pandangan saya kak kaya

gimana sih mau bilang nya begini kak pertama yang saya pandang pertama kali itu budaya nya seperti nya pergaulan kak kan menurut saya beda dengan di sana kan pergaulan di sini agak bebas cowok cewek misalnya duduk bergabung dekatan dengan yang bukan muhrim itu pandangan yang paling pertama”.

‗I think ya brother ya ee, first in my opinion, the first thing that I see is the culture. My first view is in the culture. Like how the way to have friends

sitting closer between women and men. That is m y first view‘. For Thai students, being closer and sitting closer between women and men

are not allowed in their place. The norm and the value are so strong kept by them. And Thai students are surprised when they saw that happened in their new place. What being forbidden in their place was done here.

In socio- psychology, Zhou (2008, p.64) noted that ―lacking social skills may cause cross- cultural problems‖. So that to over those problems, the new comers need to comprehend the cross cultural understanding ways. That is able to save them from the cross cultural problems.

In interview, that was stated that : Participant

: Tawfik Date st : September 21 , 2017

: Male Dormitory of IAIN Palangka Raya

As Tawfik said that: “Pas awal-awal komunikasi dengan orang banjar saya lihat suka bercanda

dan pas awal-awal dulu kadang bisa tersinggung dengan candaan mereka.

Tapi setelah lama dengan mereka saya jadi paham bahwa itu kebiasaan mereke saja bukan disengaja”.

‗In the first, I communicate with Banjar people. I saw them like to make a jok. In the first, sometimes, I do not like with the jok because make my heart

not good. But long I make friends with finally I could understand that they do not mean to do that because it is their habit ‘.

Thai students are students who come from one country that has diffirent background culture with Indonesian people. It becomes challenging for international student to continue studying in overseas. Studying in other countries a great opportunity enjoyable because it is possible to learn various cultures. However, coming into new land also can bring some problems such as

frustrated, emotional stress, the communication‘s problem and failure in achieving this matter.

That is something that should be faced by them as one statement said that ―in cross-cultural situations where we have to work in a differen cultural environment or inter-cultural situations where a number of cultures work together, these cultural differences can lead to all manner of misunderstan ding‖ (Culturewise, p.10).

International students are students who come from other country for studying in overseas. Study in other countries a great opportunity enjoyable because it is possible to learn various cultures. However, coming into new land also can bring some problems such as frustrated, emotional stress, the communication‘s problem and failure in achieving this matter.