<![CDATA[This study aims to describe the linguistic challenges faced by Thai students in attending Indonesian-medium lectures at higher education institutions in Yogyakarta. It also explores their adaptation strategies and evaluates the role of Indonesian for Foreign Speakers (BIPA) programs in supporting academic readiness. A descriptive qualitative approach was employed, with data collected through in-depth interviews with seven Thai students from different study programs. The findings reveal that the main difficulties involve limited academic vocabulary, differences between formal and informal language varieties, and unfamiliar technical terms used in lectures. These barriers contribute to communication anxiety and passive classroom participation. Students cope with these challenges by seeking peer support, practicing self-regulated learning, and using translation technologies. The BIPA program is considered inadequate in addressing academic needs due to its short duration and emphasis on daily communication rather than academic language. This study concludes that academic vocabulary mastery is central to Thai students’ successful adaptation. Accordingly, it highlights the need to develop Thai-based instructional materials and more academically oriented BIPA programs to improve learning autonomy and effectiveness for international students.]]>
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