Are ESL students hampered by low expectations?

[Juliette Taylor]

Mention has been made in the English forum of the lack of confidence felt by teachers of other subjects when it comes to the support of English language, as well as a supposed drop in standards regarding use of English by native speakers. I've found this to be a considerable hurdle to cross with respect to my own pupils. They reach a minimum level of compentency and are not encouraged to go further, other than in specific language classes. Is this a problem in other schools? I think part of the difficulty I have encountered is the very low number of ESL pupils in comparison with mainstream native speakers. Any similar experiences out there?