Yashmin Fernandes, right, hired a bilingual nanny, Elena Alarcón, center, to care for her 1-year-old daughter, Calliope Castro.

When Maureen Mazumder enrolled her daughter, Sabrina, in a Spanish singalong class a year ago, she hoped it would be the first step in helping her learn a second language. But the class did not seem to do the trick, so Ms. Mazumder decided to hire a baby sitter, one who would not only care for her daughter but also speak to her exclusively in Spanish.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/19/nyregion/19bilingual.html?hp