I also agree with Michael, and Pavel, about advertising.

If you are a teacher, <em>please </em>do not advertise your services under the guise of answering learners' questions. It looks crass and awkward, and is very off-putting for learners.

Oh, one thing I forgot to add - when you're getting conflicting answers, answers from native speakers are almost always better than non-native.

Hello Michael

Thank you for this comprehensive article, now all we have to do is hope that many people read it before posting questions. As a teacher I do sometimes try to answer questions writing in L1 using translate, but as you say it is much easier if the student try in English - they can copy in their language too if they are really worried about their standard in the language they are learning.

I hadn't come across teachers advertising in this manner but I do often offer my services if a student is happy with the answer given, we have to make a living too but not too bluntly!

Bob

In response to Heather, I gave this example question in the specific context of a contrast with the much vaguer question: 

<em style="font-size: 19.5px; line-height: 27.3px;">What is the difference between the present simple and present continuous?</em>

<em><em></em></em>I do think it is rather a lot to ask of people that they ask questions such as:

<em><em>Why is the present continuous used in this sentence and not the present simple: "I am brushing my teeth so can you wait a few minutes, please?"?</em></em>

Unless a person has studied grammar they are not likely to understand this, let alone ask it. I could ask 20 of my friends and they would likely draw a blank. People have an innate feel for the grammar of their native tongue - unless they have studied their language in depth - and it is only when learning another language that they discover many grammatical terms. 

Indeed, the person may just be coming across the terms 'present continuous' and 'present simple' for the first time, and yet somehow they are expected to realise that asking the difference between the two makes a 'not so good' question; or that they should know that the question is too wide. Perhaps they may also have searched for explanations and they may still be confused over it. As a teacher, I would think that you should then prompt them to be a little more specific, if they can. You are, after all, the teacher - armed with the facts that the student may not have.

While I agree with many  points in the article concerning good and not so good questions ('less good' sounds horrific), I believe this to be a little pedantic. 

It's just a thought!