Malaysian school students are struggling in mastering English as a second language (ESL). Among those who are struggling in this area are the Iban students, especially those from the suburban and rural areas. The biggest challenge they face is the demand to be proficient in speaking English as the language is widely used in both government and private sectors in the country. Contributing factors such as lack of self-confidence and unfamiliarity with English language have made it more challenging for these students to speak the language fluently. The 2030 Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) provided by the United Nations for Malaysia emphasize on quality education by offering equal learning opportunities of all levels of education and vocational training for every citizen which include disable citizens, indigenous people and children in vulnerable situations. The Ibans are recognized by the government of Malaysia as one of the Indigenous people in Sarawak. The SDG2030 agenda will prepare the future Iban generation with relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship. Proficiency in speaking English is one of the main criteria required to apply for these jobs. Therefore, it is important to identify language learning strategies (LLS) used by these students in order to better understand their approach in improving their speaking skills. The research aim to 1) investigate the most frequently used LLS to enhance speaking skills among ESL Form 3 Iban students and 2) analyse if there is any difference between the LLS used by male and female ESL Form 3 Iban students to enhance English speaking skills. 46 ESL lower form Iban students from a secondary school in a suburban area participated in the survey. Language Learning Strategy Use Inventory (LLSI) was used as the instrument for data collection. Findings from this study suggested that social strategies are the most frequently used LLS by ESL Form 3 Iban students among the six strategies to enhance their speaking skills. There is no significance difference in the use of LLS between male and female students despite male students use more LLS than female students where the difference is very small. The study suggests that students should be exposed to these LLS and are encouraged to use them to enhance their speaking skills.
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