[kisito]

Quote STCrowley

Thanks, Kisito!
But, I've reached a point where I'm willing to start paying money for a book that organizes a lot of the information for me. (I really enjoyed Scott Thurnbury's "Teaching Speaking" and it's changed the way I think about English and teaching English.)
-Toby

Do you have a list of recommended books for teaching you would like to share?
I'm off to Hong Kong one of these days and a reading list would be great.I'll definitely check out Scott Thurnbury.
Thanks

Of course a lot depends on the type of course one takes but overall I'd say challenging oneself within a formal educational setting like a teacher training course does help one improve their teaching skills.

[Whistleblower]

I recommend the following books:

"Learning Teaching" - Scrivener
"Grammar for English Teachers" - Swan
"Grammar in Use" - Murphy
"500 Activities for the Primary Classroom" - Read
"Discover English" - Borlitho & Tomlinson

There is a post on my blog about Grammar Books. For further development;

1. Organise teacher workshops
2. Attend teacher workshops
3. Join IATEFL (IATEFL - International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language)
4. Do the CELTA/TEFL course
5. Observe other teachers
6. Teachers observe you
7. Ask for feedback from students
8. Push your boundaries

[Esliee]

getting experience is the best key to improve your skills in any field . . . courses can only give you ideas . . . but the professional life is much different from it . . . :-D