PERAN KOMUNIKASI ANTARBUDAYA DALAM MENGATASI GEGAR BUDAYA MAHASISWA ASING UNS (Studi Deskriptif Kualitatif Peran Komunikasi Antarbudaya dalam Mengatasi Gegar Budaya yang Dialami oleh Mahasiswa Asing S-1 UNS)

Communication has a vital role in human social life. Through communication process, people can interact with each other, and they are even able to build personal relationships. Even, people coming from different cultures may communicate to each other. The migration to the new environment experienced by the overseas students studying in undergraduate (S-1) programs will emerge cultural problems called culture shock. Thus, communication relations must be built in order to adjust themselves to the new environment. Communication has played a central role in the process of overcoming culture shock experienced by UNS overseas students studying in undergraduate (S-1) programs. The purpose of this research is to find out and to understand the forms of culture shock which the overseas students have experienced and how intercultural communication takes role to overcome it. Thus, it gives us better and richer understanding about the role of intercultural communication in overcoming culture shock among UNS these overseas students. The research method used in this research is qualitative-descriptive method. The technique of data collection is through observation, mini focus group discussion (mini FGD), indepth interview, and literature study. Type of observation in this research is participatory observation, which means the researcher actively takes role in the situation and events where the overseas students becoming research informants get involved. Purposive sampling is used as sampling techniques which involves 16 students from 10 countries as the research sample (informants). The result of the research shows that the emergence of culture shock event is caused by the problems of language, food, environment (wheather, residence, and academic), character of Solo citizens, spirituality, and Javanese culture. Intercultural communication is an effective way which takes important roles to overcome culture shock among the overseas students so that they are able to adjust themselves with the new environment through face-to-face communication and technology utilization, especially to overcome the problems of language, food, environment, and character of Solo citizens. Group, mass, and cultural communication also help them in the process of adaptation and self-adjustment through group interaction, mass media, and cultural events. The communication process will not see an end. Otherwise, it helps them to more quickly adjust with the new environment and culture of UNS and Solo. Keywords: intercultural communication, culture shock, UNS overseas students studying in undergraduate (S-1) programs, self-adjustment, new environment and culture