Language learning strategies (LLS) are the ways to help the learners in mastering English speaking ability. This study was purposed to investigate the common students’ difficulties and to find out the common learning strategies employed by students of a private senior high school in Yogyakarta in learning English speaking skills. This study used quantitative approach and applied survey as the research design. The data were collected by means score of a questionnaire. In this study, 25 close-ended questionnaire items were used as the collection method. In which 174 students were involved in this study. The results of this study showed that the difficulties in learning English speaking skills which were included in the ten aspects namely confidence, grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, nervousness, fear making mistake, negative response from others, motivation, interaction, and un-interesting topic. The private senior high school students in Yogyakarta faced pronunciation as the common difficulties in learning English speaking skills. Furthermore, the students also applied the certain learning strategies including metacognitive, memory, cognitive, and affective strategies to learn English speaking skills. The results also revealed that metacognitive strategies were the strategies used by students of a private senior high school in learning English speaking skills.