Psychometric Profile and Standardization Perspectives of an Expressive Language Assessment Model for Bulgarian Children Aged 4 to 6

The article presents the development and initial psychometric validation of a model designed to assess expressive language in Bulgarian children aged 4 to 6. The study is situated within contemporary psycholinguistic and speech-language pathology frameworks, emphasizing expressive language as an integral component of cognitive and social functioning in early childhood. The model includes tasks that address the three core levels of language production – lexical, morphological, and syntactic—and is designed with attention to the structural characteristics of the Bulgarian language. The results demonstrate satisfactory internal consistency, age sensitivity, and diagnostic potential for identifying children at risk of language impairment. A strong correlation is observed between age and language performance, while gender does not show statistically significant influence. The assessment tool reflects the developmental dynamics of expressive language and has the capacity to identify qualitative changes in productive speech. The study concludes by underscoring the need for a broader empirical foundation and national standardization of the model to support its implementation in speech-language and educational practice for early diagnosis and intervention in children with communicative difficulties.