INTAN SAPITRIH Pengarang Agus Triyogo, M.Pd. Dosen Pembimbing 1 Ayu Oktaviani, M.Pd. Dosen Pembimbing 2 Agus Triyogo, M.Pd. Ketua Penguji Maria Ramasari, M.Pd. Penguji 1 Dr. Hamdan, M.Pd. Penguji 2 INTAN SAPITRIH Contributor

This research aimed to find out the English teachers’ perception on the implementation of Merdeka Belajar curriculum at MAN 1 and MAN 2 Lubuklinggau and to find out the differences in perception between English teachers at MAN 1 and MAN 2 Lubuklinggau on the implementation of Merdeka Belajar curriculum. The method used in this research was descriptive qualitative. The population were all English teachers at MAN 1 and MAN 2 Lubuklinggau. The sample consisted of 6 English teachers that was chosen by using purposive sampling. The data were collected by using questionnaire, observation and documentation. After the data collected, it analyzed through data reduction, data display, drawing conclusion and verification. The results showed English teachers’ perception on the implementation of Merdeka Belajar curriculum was positive. It means that can give good impact both for English teacher and students in increasing enthusiasm, interest and motivate in learning. However, the English teachers also had negative perception faced when implementation of Merdeka Belajar curriculum, that was Merdeka Belajar had the weaknesses and obstacles, especially the lack of teacher readiness and lack of teacher training. The conclusion in this research was teachers must be given a lot of socialization and training, so the teachers can implement the Merdeka Belajar curriculum based on the learning objectives set by the government. Keywords: English Teacher, Implementation, Merdeka Belajar Curriculum, Perception.