Takeaway
Neural representations of an adult’s native language were evoked by a newly acquired word from a non-native language, as detected by electroencephalography (EEG) with machine learning models.
Why this matters
Little is known about the neural representations induced during the process of learning a new non-native language (L2).
This was the first study to detect L2 semantic representation using decoding techniques and provides direction for novel studies of the neural foundations of language learning.