MacBook Air recovery switching between macOS versions

From your screenshot, your disk layout actually looks normal for an Apple silicon Mac. 

The extra entries you are  seeing are expected and do not  indicate that your SSD has extra partitions or that you have  permanently damaged the drive.

The disk4 and disk5 entries are the macOS Base System, which is a temporary recovery disk image. It's loaded into memory whenever Recovery starts and is not stored as a separate partition on your internal SSD.

Erasing the APFS container while you were running macOS Tahoe would not  permanently damage the partition structure. 

1 - Since your diskutil list shows Macintosh HD, Macintosh HD – Data, Recovery, Preboot, and VM, macOS recreated the required APFS volumes correctly during installation.

2 - The reason Recovery appears to switch between Tahoe and Sequoia is that Apple silicon Macs can boot into different recovery environments depending on how Recovery was entered, whether Recovery was updated during a macOS installation, or whether it's using a downloaded recovery image. That behaviour can be normal.

3 - The one thing that is not typical is Recovery taking you directly to the language selection screen every time. 

4 - If macOS still boots normally afterward, it may simply be starting the Recovery setup process. If it consistently behaves differently or Recovery no longer functions correctly, the recoveryOS may need to be restored.

5 - You can not downgrade the macOS Base System by itself. 

6 - It is tied to the version of recoveryOS installed on the Mac and is updated when macOS or the firmware is installed or restored.

7 - Since you are  thinking about trading the Mac in, the simplest option is to use Erase All Content and Settings if macOS is working normally. 

8 - If Recovery continues acting strangely, the cleanest solution is a DFU Restore using another Mac with Apple Configurator. 

9 - That reinstalls the firmware, recoveryOS, and macOS, returning the software to a factory state.

Apple's guides that are most relevant are:

• Use macOS Recovery on a Mac with Apple silicon

• Erase and reinstall macOS

• Erase All Content and Settings on Mac

➡️ Revive or restore a Mac with Apple Configurator ⬅️

Recovery boot may be switching and extra drives may be displayed because your downgrade was not completed properly. Downgrade is not in Apple's vocabulary and they do not provide much in the way of guidance for it.

You do not downgrade the macOS base system. That is built-into the Mac for use in recovery and is untouchable to the user.

While downgrading a modern Mac can be done, it has risks and hurdles, including the possibility of firmware complications that may necessitate using the revive/restore process from another Mac. It is typically easier to work through any issues you have with the current OS than it is to downgrade to an older version.

At this point I would suggest you follow Apple's guidance to erase and reset the Mac to factory settings:

Erase your Mac and reset it to factory settings - Apple Support

If you would share the list of drives and volumes that Terminal app can identify, then someone here in the Community may be able to provide more guidance before you erase the computer.

This Terminal command diskutil list will provide an output that looks similar to what mine shows below.

This will be helpful for us to see.

Thank you for that image.👍🏽

To my eye it looks normal and shows no inappropriate drive volumes. Judging from this image there is nothing to fix.

It does show, in the last few lines, info regarding /dev/disk4 and /dev/disk5, but those are related to the macOS Base System disk image, which is fine.

Is this image from a normal restart or did you have to boot the computer booted in recovery to get this info from the Terminal?

Can you now launch Disk Utility and show us what it can tell us about the disks that it sees, please?

• Launch Disk Utility and click View > Show All Devices.

You should see something similar to this image below that shows the internal drive device (...Media) and the container and volumes it houses.

Is there a way to correct it because last time I erased container disc three on macOS Tahoe

Yes, there is a way to correct the problem, but you have to provide us with additional information.

Please understand that we cannot look over your shoulder and see what you see. To give appropriate guidance it is imperative that you provide some feedback, such as the info that you get back from the Terminal app. Screenshots are most helpful here in the Community. Use pics from your phone if you must.

Does your Mac not boot up at all into the user login screen and farther?

If your Mac doesn't start up all the way - Apple Support

If it does not, then perhaps the best thing to do would be to make an appointment at the Genius Bar of your closest Apple Store or at an Apple Authorized Service Provider and have them sort this our for you.

You can make a Genius Bar appointment using this link: Make a Genius Bar reservation - Apple Support

Customer Support (800) MY–APPLE (800–692–7753) or on line /getsupport.apple.com/ 

or call AppleCare Support at 1-800-APLCARE (800-275-2273) 

Outside the US: Apple’s global phone numbers: Contact Apple Support 

The language/welcome screen is the first thing one expects to see when the computer is first being set up and after a reinstall of the OS. If the Mac prompts you through a setup process, then it's necessary to complete that.

If the Mac now boots to the appropriate desktop and you are having problems with it, please share what you discover in the Terminal app as I posted earlier.

Good info.

My job here is done. 🙂👍🏽