Please see the following links for more information on the research behind these facts:

http://sites.psu.edu/secondlanguagebenefits/

http://www.actfl.org/advocacy/what-the-research-shows

http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/lib/sde/PDF/Curriculum/Curriculum_Root_Web_Folder/BenefitsofSecondLanguage.pdf

http://www.standard.net/Lifestyle/2012/02/06/Many-benefits-come-with-learning-a-foreign-language.html

http://www.districtadministration.com/article/learning-second-language-when-why

http://www.utexas.edu/features/2007/language/

http://www.cal.org/resources/digest/0012brain.html

http://casls.uoregon.edu/pages/research/tenquestions.php