Listening to the Other

For effective pedagogy, listening to students by the teacher is essential. Contrary to expectations, it is first and foremost the teacher who must listen to enable genuine learning, based on mutual respect and the legitimization of the student in their approach.

The Importance of Listening to the Student in Pedagogy

Why is listening to the other, in my view, a fundamental element of pedagogy? When I speak of listening to the other, I specifically refer to the educator paying attention to the student. This is the precise sense in which I mean it. Yet, one might instinctively think the opposite. Traditionally, it is assumed that the student must listen to the teacher in order to learn what the teacher is tasked with imparting. I argue the opposite: it is the teacher who must first listen to the student for teaching and pedagogy to function effectively.

One might object that if the teacher spends their time listening to the student, it necessarily reduces the time dedicated to teaching, that is, to transmitting information. However, this objection is based on a flawed understanding of pedagogy. Teaching is not simply about conveying data or knowledge to be memorized. Learning is something entirely different: it is an internal process of construction, a personal elaboration that takes place within a learning situation created by the teacher. Thus, pedagogy is not merely about “providing information.” It involves dialogue, interaction, and the co-construction of knowledge.

Why and How Can the Teacher, by Listening to the Student, Enable Better Learning?

For learning to occur, two essential conditions must be met:

• First, the student must be in touch with their own desire to learn. This desire must emerge from the student themselves. Without the will to learn, no assimilation is possible. The mind wanders, attention fades, and boredom sets in.
• Second, the student must feel legitimate in their learning process. This means they must perceive that they not only have the right but also the ability to learn. This may seem obvious: being in a classroom implies, in principle, that one is there to learn. Yet, it is not always so simple. A student may feel hindered by a lack of recognition, by unexpressed disagreement, or by a sense of disrespect toward who they are or what they think.

As a student, do I feel respected for who I am and what I think? Do I have the right to express my point of view, even when I disagree with the teacher? There may be times when I question what is being presented to me, but do I have the freedom to say so openly? If so, then dialogue, and the emotions it generates, becomes a true driver of learning. It is through this exchange, with the teacher and other students, that I can construct my own knowledge. For this to happen, I must first feel respected as a person. The teacher’s role is to support me in my learning, taking into account any obstacles that may hinder me, whether they are emotional, related to a sense of illegitimacy, or other factors.

Listening is therefore essential to enable the student to find their place in the learning process. Through listening, the teacher helps the student overcome emotional or cognitive barriers and position themselves as a legitimate actor in their own learning. Ultimately, the center of the pedagogical framework is not the teacher but the student. The student must feel that the teaching is directed at them as an individual and that they are at the heart of the teacher’s concerns.

Respect and Social Roles

I believe we agree on a fundamental principle: for a student to learn, they must feel respected and supported, and this begins with listening. Teaching is primarily intended for students, and it is for them that we are here. Without this respect, the lesson will not truly address them as individuals but rather something abstract, disconnected from their reality. Yet, we exist only as individuals, and this respect is owed to us in all its dimensions. It must be reciprocal: the teacher must respect the students, just as the students must respect the teacher. However, their roles are not the same. The teacher, by virtue of their position, holds knowledge and exercises power that students do not. They therefore bear a greater responsibility in establishing respect within the classroom. It is up to the teacher to set the framework, to inspire momentum, and to provide direction. The students, on the other hand, operate within this framework: they do not organize it, as that is not their role. It is the teacher who drives the movement and structures the learning space.

Starting Well and Moving Forward

Establishing genuine listening from the outset is a powerful lever for creating this framework. For example, during the first session, students could express their expectations for the course. These expectations, noted in real-time as a mind map and visible to all, would become a reference document, evolving and legitimized, to which the teacher could regularly return. It could be supplemented over time with the teacher’s proposals, aligned with the expressed needs. Such an approach would anchor teaching in a dynamic of active listening and remind everyone that the framework is primarily built around the students’ needs. It is within this structured space that the teacher’s contributions can then be integrated.

This is why and how listening to the other constitutes one of the essential cornerstones of the pedagogical relationship, and this listening must first and foremost come from the educator toward their students.