Teaching prepositions to beginners (in, on, at)

[Jemima23]

How do you approach teaching prepositions of place (specifically "at" and "in") to beginners?
I usually give students a general rule of going from the most general preposition (in) to the most specific (at) like so: in - on - at.
But then you have to also consider nuances of using "in" and "at", because both of these are suitable for the same place in some circumstances. Would you explain these nuances to a beginner student, or would you leave this subject untill the student gets the basic rule?

 

[jutfrank]

I usually give students a general rule of going from the most general preposition (in) to the most specific (at) like so: in - on - at.

I don't follow what you mean. I don't think you can properly understand prepositions in terms of being general/specific, but I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.

But then you have to also consider nuances of using "in" and "at", because both of these are suitable for the same place in some circumstances'. Would you explain these nuances to a beginner student, or would you leave this subject untill the student gets the basic rule?

No, I wouldn't explain anything to a beginner student, not least because I don't speak their L1 sufficiently well. That may be different for you.

Give them some useful preposition phrases where the meaning is very clear: in the garden, in April, in my bedroom, at 2 pm, at the moment, etc. You don't need to waste time trying to explain fine differences in meaning to beginner or elementary students. They have enough on their plate at this point in their learning. Focus on more practical stuff.