Here are two links on the topic of musical training and its value for language learning.
The first is a report from the PBS News Hour which cites a study done by Dr. Nina Kraus, a neurobiologist at Northwestern University, who says musical training can boost language and reading skills in children in impoverished areas. She theorizes that this is due to the strengthening of neural functions as well as a connection with sound and reading.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/learning-musical-instrument-improves-language-reading-skills/
The second link is from the Pacific Standard (The Science of Society) and it reports on the same study done by Nina Kraus, PhD.
Two more links added on January 18, 2015:
In a new study, published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, a child psychiatry team has found that learning a musical instrument could help children to reduce feelings of anxiety, gain a greater control of their emotions and give a stronger focus to their attention.
Here is the link: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/287458.php
There is mounting evidence that linguistic and musical processing engages similar cognitive resources. This link gives some very interesting information on recent research on how music and language learning are connected.
http://theconversation.com/explainer-how-are-learning-languages-and-music-linked-34325
