An early reference to the use of electronic concordancers in language teaching can be found in Higgins & Johns (1984: pp. 88–94),<ref>Higgins J. & Johns T. (1984) ''Computers in language learning'', London: Collins.</ref> and many examples of their practical use in the classroom are described by Lamy & Klarskov Mortensen (2010).<ref name = lamyklarskov/>
It was Tim Johns (1991), however, who raised the profile of the use of concordancers in the language classroom with his concept of Data-driven learning (DDL).<ref>Johns T. (1991) "From printout to handout: grammar and vocabulary teaching in the context of Data Driven Learning". In Johns T. & King P. (eds.) ''Classroom concordancing'', Special issue of ''ELR Journal'' 4, University of Birmingham, Centre for English Language Studies: 27-45.</ref> DDL encourages learners to work out their own rules about the meaning of words and their usage by using a concordancer to locate examples in a corpus of authentic texts. It is also possible for the teacherakaakakakakahiodfhadiofhasdfiohsfoisdhfsuiofydsouysoifysfoidshsiofysiofysfioyiwyfiosyfuw8yfuwiofyhsiofyhsiouyfsifysoifusifhysuofyswfysufo9wf8ywfioyhw8f9wyfwh8888soey9fhseiofyhsd88f0ywe8rs8hyfs8fyhs08gfywf9i0gsrgregergerteacher to use a concordancer to find examples of authentic usage to demonstrate a point of grammar or typical collocations, and to generate exercises based on the examples found. Various types of concordancers and where they can be obtained are described by Lamy & Klarskov Mortensen (2011).<ref name=lamyklarskov>Lamy M-N. & Klarskov Mortensen H. J. (2011) Using concordance programs in the Modern Foreign Languages classroom. Module 2.4 in Davies G. (ed.) ''Information and Communications Technology for Language Teachers (ICT4LT)'', Slough, Thames Valley University [Online]: http://www.ict4lt.org/en/en_mod2-4.htm</ref>
Robb (2003) shows how it is possible to use Google as a concordancer, but he also points out a number of drawbacks, for instance there is no control over the educational level, nationality, or other characteristics of the creators of the texts that are found, and the presentation of the examples is not as easy to read as the output of a dedicated concordancer that places the key words (i.e. the search terms) in context.<ref>Robb T. (2003) "Google as a Quick 'n Dirty Corpus Tool", ''TESL-EJ'' 7, 2 [Online]: http://tesl-ej.org/ej26/int.html</ref>
