By Liz Coffin-KarlinThe Daily Northwestern

An increase in the demand for classes and the departure of Spanish professors have left some students looking to take language classes out in the cold.

Northwestern’s Department of Spanish and Portuguese is searching for new professors to offer enough sections of its literature courses. Upper-level language courses are also filling up quickly, causing the department to conduct a search for new lecturers.

After spring 2006, two upper-level Spanish lecturers left the university. There are also two professors on leave this quarter, which has saddled those remaining on campus with a heavy load of students.

Prof. Josef Barton said the department is conducting a national search for new lecturers to teach Spanish literature courses.

Language classes need to stay capped at about 20 students, Barton said, because “the best language classes are small classes.” The exact number of students who were closed out of classes was unavailable.

Jorge Coronado, assistant professor of Spanish and acting director of the Latin American and Caribbean Studies program, said even when classes increase by only one or two students, “students don’t get the same amount of time … it’s that much less time for everyone to speak.”

Coronado teaches two classes for the Spanish department, one of which exceeds the listed cap. He said that although larger classes create more work for the professors in the form of more papers and quizzes to grade and more people to call on during class, “the worst impact is on the students.”

Due to the current lack of senior Spanish professors, the department can only offer five 300-level courses this quarter. Spanish majors need to complete six courses at that level to graduate.

Only tenure-track professors can teach 300-level courses in the department. When several such professors took leadership positions in the department this quarter, the shortage of qualified faculty became even more pronounced.

SESP senior Amanda Dixon, who is completing a double major in social policy and Spanish, is one of two Spanish department representatives on the NU Student Advisory Board. The lack of course variety, she said, means that Spanish majors “have to take what is given to them … which can be frustrating.”

The department has started screening potential candidates for its two open slots.

But even if those slots are filled, Prof. Sonia Garc