This article tests the effects of native/nonnative (NS/NNS) English‐speaker status and gender on the structure of directions issued by native speakers of English. By extending the scope of earlier studies, this paper confirms that direction giving on the U.S. university campus is highly conventionalized (Scotton&Bernsten, 1988). At the same time, it argues that NS/NNS status and gender systematically influence a small range of linguistic choices in the exchange. Specifically, direction givers do make coordinated speech modifications, i.e., use certain features offoreigner registerto NNSs in this conversation type, but these adjustments do not match earlier findings (Varonis&Gass, 1982). In addition, gender of both the direction giver (Scotton&Bernsten, 1988) and the direction seeker influence the structure and content of the discourse. The joint effects of these variables also play a relevant role. ESOL instruction can benefit, it is argued, by understanding the components of this discourse patternin