Resumen
English for Medical Purposes (EMP) is a branch of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) which is widely requested and taught but still relatively under-researched. However, with the growth of digital humanities and international communication, English has become the de facto language of choice. Furthermore, it is also the main language used within scientific communities for disseminating knowledge i.e. the lingua franca. Thus, this research aims to contribute to the field of EMP by making use of authentic materials in the EMP classroom. Specifically, the study focusses on a corpus of cosmetic surgery consultations which have been adapted for classroom use and aims to investigate: i. the feasibility of using such materials for B2 level students; ii. the extent to which authentic materials increase student motivation as well as assimilation of new scientific terminology. Eighty-seven mixed-level students, aged nineteen to thirty-two years old and enrolled in medicine or dentistry courses at the University of Salerno, took part in a series of lessons which make use of the authentic materials leading to a final production which is a comparable simulation to a real-life consultation. Questionnaires were used both pre and post lessons and the results would appear to indicate a clear increase in participation when engaging with authentic materials as this seems to increase motivation and help students to contextualise scientific vocabulary.