STUDENTS PERCEPTIONS OF READING HABITS AND SCHEMATA IN READING COMPREHENSION AT A BILINGUAL SCHOOL

Reading habits and background knowledge play important roles in English reading comprehension, yet little is known about how bilingual secondary school students perceive these factors. This study investigated Grade 7 students perceptions of their reading habits, schema use, and the relationship between these constructs at a bilingual school in Vietnam. Guided by Schema Theory, the Interactive Model of Reading, and the Extensive Reading Hypothesis, the study adopted an embedded mixed-methods design. Data were collected from 153 students through a five-point Likert-scale questionnaire and from 15 students through semi-structured interviews. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation, while qualitative data were examined through thematic analysis. The findings revealed that students generally held positive perceptions of both their reading habits (M = 3.83) and schema use (M = 3.90). Among the four schema types, cultural schemata received the lowest rating, indicating difficulties in understanding culturally embedded texts. A strong positive association was also found between reading habits and schema use (r = .725, p< .001). The findings highlight the importance of promoting regular reading and explicitly developing students background knowledge, particularly cultural schemata, to enhance reading comprehension in bilingual classrooms.