A survey of 211 adult Chinese immigrants in a community school in Los Angeles, California reports on the adults' need and desire for survival English instruction. The study investigated: the situations and contexts for which English instruction was needed; individuals' desire to increase the range of transactions in which they can function in English; the relationship, if any, between age, sex, length of stay in the United States, educational background, previous English instruction, and interest for survival English instruction; any progression in topics of interest for study; the linguistic and non-linguistic skills and information needed to carry out survival transactions; student strategies used to cope with survival situations; and the ways in which these skills and strategies could be supplemented or improved upon by the classroom teacher. The appendices include an English translation of the questionnaire as well as the original one in Chinese; an interview schedule; survival English lessons; a seven-page list of services and resources for the Chinese community in the Los Angeles area; and transcripts of interviews (translated from Cantonese into English) conducted with ten adult students.(MSE)