Investigating Second Year Students' Errors in the Use of English Spatial Prepositions (in, on, at) at the Faculty of Medical Technology, Azzaytuna University

This study is an attempt to identify and analyze errors in using English prepositions of place (in, on and at) committed by EFL undergraduate students at the Faculty of Medical Technology, Azzaytuna University.  It also attempts to explore the reasons behind these errors. The study population consisted of (60) students enrolled in the second year at the Faculty of Medical Technology in the academic year 2025/2026. A sample of 45 undergraduate students was selected randomly in January 2026. They were given a 30-sentence gap-filling test and were asked to fill in the gaps with suitable prepositions. The findings indicated that the participants committed several errors in using these prepositions, and these errors could be due to a number of causes, such as the interference from the mother tongue or the lack of knowledge of the English language. The researcher recommends that teaching spatial prepositions at early stages of teaching and learning should be taken into consideration by teachers through exercises about prepositions of place, which may help students to use these prepositions in English properly.