The article deals with the expediency of using authentic materials in foreign language classes to develop students' language communicative competence. The concepts of "authenticity" and "authentic materials" are analyzed. It is determined that authentic materials come from the country whose language is being studied and are primarily intended for native speakers, therefore they are distinguished by the originality of the lexical composition, grammatical forms and structures, and reflect the content and situations that correspond to the mentality and norms of that country. It is clarified that these materials include printed texts such as newspapers, magazines, literary works, announcements, advertising brochures, etc.; audio materials such as radio broadcasts, podcasts, songs; and video materials such as news reports, advertisements, interviews, artistic and documentary films, etc. The possible ways of using authentic printed, audio, and video materials are analyzed. The stages and methods of working with different types of authentic materials are presented, which ensure the expediency of their use in foreign language classes. Criteria for selecting authentic materials have been defined: correspondence of the content of authentic materials to the language proficiency level, age, and interests of students; orientation of the material towards the development of communicative and sociocultural competencies; suitable format of the material that allows for the use of didactic possibilities. The advantages of using authentic materials in foreign language classes have been summarized: increased motivation of students to learn a foreign language; learning a foreign language through examples of its use in real-life situations; familiarization with the country-specific features, culture, traditions, realities, and mentality of people; creating a relaxed atmosphere in class that stimulates interest, cognitive anticipation, and imagination; the uniqueness of authentic materials enhances attention, develops memory, and promotes effective assimilation of the material. The disadvantages, such as the large amount of time required for searching and selecting authentic materials that meet all the criteria, and developing tasks for these materials, have been identified. It has been determined that the perspective of further work is the development of a complex of educational materials based on authentic sources and their testing in foreign language classes.