Abstrak
This study was conducted because many students perceived that Non-Native English-Speaking Teachers (NNESTs) were not as competent as Native English-Speaking Teachers (NESTs), particularly in terms of pronunciation. In addition, some students experienced difficulty understanding their teachers’ explanations due to their limited vocabulary. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze students’ perceptions of the strengths and weaknesses of learning English with Non-Native English-Speaking Teachers (NNESTs) at English Academy by Ruang Guru Bukittinggi. This study employed a descriptive quantitative research design. The participants were 20 students of English Academy by Ruang Guru Bukittinggi who were selected using a total sampling technique. The data were collected through a questionnaire and analyzed using percentage calculations to determine students’ perceptions of the strengths and weaknesses of NNESTs. The findings revealed that students generally had positive perceptions toward NNESTs. The strengths indicator obtained a percentage score of 93%, which was categorized as very high. Furthermore, statements number 2 and 7 obtained the highest percentage score, reaching 100%, indicating that students highly valued NNESTs’ ability to understand learners’ difficulties and their commitment to supporting the learning process. Meanwhile, the weaknesses indicator obtained a percentage score of 75%, which was categorized as high. Statement number 1 obtained the highest percentage score among all weakness indicators, reaching 95%, indicating that this aspect was perceived as the most prominent weakness of NNESTs. However, these weaknesses did not significantly affect students’ overall perceptions because they continued to value NNESTs’ teaching competence and supportive teaching approach. Therefore, it can be concluded that the strengths of NNESTs were perceived more dominantly than their weaknesses in supporting students’ English learning.