Research on the neurobiology of second language (L2) learning has historically focused on localization questions and relied on cross-sectional designs. Here, we describe an alternative paradigm involving longitudinal studies of adult, novice learners who are progressing through an introductory sequence of classroom-based L2 instruction. The goal of this paradigm is to determine how much L2 exposure is needed before learners incorporate L2 knowledge into their online comprehension processes, as reflected in scalp-recorded event-related brain potentials. Our preliminary studies show that some, but not all, aspects of the

In this article we review several studies investigating the neural correlates of secondlanguage (L2) grammatical learning in the context of novice adult learners progressing through their first year of L2 classroom instruction. The primary goal of these studies was to determine how and when learners incorporate L2 knowledge into their online language processing system. We show that at least some learners progress through discrete stages of grammatical learning during the first year of instruction. These stages are robust across languages, experimental tasks, and levels of language (lexical vs. sentential) and indicate that there is an intermediate stage of learning between no L2 grammatical knowledge and grammaticalization. We also show that although learners' brain responses are quite variable, this variability is highly systematic and can be used to identify meaningful subgroups of learners.

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