This article is an investigation into the characteristics of intercultural competence in a face-to-face tandem language learning context between English and Chinese postgraduate students. It examines idiomatic meaning exchanges through the adoption of a conversation analytical perspective. It is a contribution to the existing body of knowledge on intercultural competence and on tandem language learning. However, unlike previous research in this field, this research uses a micro-analytical account of 'repair', 'turn taking practices', and 'preference organisation' in order to unravel the cultural differences between the participants and the ways in which they orient to them in a face-to-face tandem language learning context.