Why learn a language?

I find that I have to remind the students about the importance of learning a language.It is difficult for Americans since we are not using a language everyday. However, with modern means of communications people could easily find a penpal and write via email. Learning a language not only opens us up to new cultures and ways of thinking but it helps us to define our words better, enlightens us to the mechanics of a language, and  helps us to communicate better in our native tongue. I have seen articles that say learning a language helps improve our intelligence. There are many reasons why it would be convenient to learn a language. I think here in America we would need a strong influence in the early years to faciliate learning a language. There are many things that could be done to improve this. There is plenty of space in a the mind for learning 2 or 3 languages, it just has to start early.