Blue Mage is a masterpiece of game design.

[Nora_of_Mira]

I cant play until tonight, but does learning BLU spells work like in XI where you had to be facing the monster to learn a spell? If you faced away you didnt "see" it and therefore didnt learn it.
Could you team up with a tank for example and have them hold the mob until it uses the correct attack and then kill it?

yes you can team up and learn skills with a tank helping you, but no, you dont need to be facing it. as long as it used the skill and it dies, you have a chance of learning it.