There is no dearth of studies on speech acts in both L1 and L2 acquisition; however, research on the role of gender and the impact of exposure to L2 on the use of directive speech acts (DSAs) by Persian speakers is scarce. Therefore, to fill this niche, the present study seeks to investigate the effect of the aforementioned variables on the use of DSAs by Persian speakers. To this end, a discourse completion task designed in Persian based on Searle’s (1969) classification of DSAs comprising 25 discourse contexts was administered to two groups of participants. Group A, consisting of 69 participants (30 males and 39 females), had sufficient exposure to the English language as they were English majors in their senior year. In contrast, the 66 participants in Group B (32 males and 34 females) had the least exposure to English (only two hours per week in their general English courses for two semesters at the university and three hours per week in high school). Both groups shared the same native language, namely, Persian. The analysis of the data revealed a significant difference in the DSAs utilized by the two groups of participants, that is, Group A used suggestions more frequently, while Group B resorted to commands more. There was also a significant difference between female and male participants in their selection of the DSAs, with the males using commands more frequently than female participants, who opted for suggestions. A major implication of this study is that exposure to English among Persian speakers may encourage such speakers to use suggestions more frequently than commands as a DSA.