This paper describes a teaching strategy involving authentic material in a semi-autonomous learning situation (European civil servants working in the Common Market Administrations in Brussels). A general description of the learners in terms of their backgrounds (ethnic, educational and social) and the conditions and surroundings of their learning is given. To describe the needs of this type of learner, the categories put forward by R. Richterich are used; the language skills most important to these learners and the communicative functions they were supposed to handle are pointed out. The pedagogical guidelines are described, and the problems met during the selection of the documents are presented: obsolescence, lexical difficulty, and topical interest. The material is grouped together in modular packages. These packages include written as well as oral material recorded on tape. Examples taken from a particular package are given: exercises on written comprehension, oral expression, listening comprehension and suggestions for functional presentations. Some ways of using the packages outside the classroom situation are suggested. (Author/CLK)