PENGUATAN KOMUNIKASI ASERTIF SANTRI DI LINGKUNGAN MULTIBAHASA PONDOK PESANTREN MATHLA’UL ANWAR KOTA PONTIANAK

Abstract

A boarding school is an educational environment based on a boarding school system that emphasizes religious values, discipline, and community in its learning process. The two main issues that are the focus of this study are low assertive communication skills and language adaptation difficulties among students in society. This community service initiative was conducted to enhance students' assertive communication skills and language adaptation abilities at the Mathla’ul Anwar Islamic Boarding School in Pontianak through interventions based on role-playing and focus group discussions (FGD). The methods employed during the initiative included psychoeducation, discussions, interactive games, and social situation simulations, with pre-test and post-test evaluations conducted over four sessions. Based on the results of the intervention, there was a significant improvement in how to communicate assertively and adapt language in the boarding school environment, understanding the purpose of assertive communication, and establishing much healthier communication among students, thereby preventing misunderstandings. These findings emphasize that systematic and participatory community interventions are effective in fostering healthy communication in a multicultural boarding school environment. Such programs are recommended to be continued on an ongoing basis to support the development of character and social skills among students.